My stance on artificial intelligence
I don’t have to like it, I don’t have to trust it...but I also don’t have to doubt it at every turn. In any case, one thing I can't do is ignore it.
I'm not convinced we can handle this dubious gift right now, as a
society. Not with the wisdom, grace, and patience it demands. But what
choice do we have? The idea that we can put the genie back into its
bottle seems less and less likely to me as time goes on. The only
constructive way I can think of to work through my doubt is to engage
with the problem. To participate in the conversation as we all learn how
to accommodate this shift in our world.
How? By exploring
the tools and technology of artificial intelligence. Finding its limits,
mapping its horizons. Discovering where it can help, where it may
hinder, and where it fails entirely. Only by understanding how it works
can I find the appropriate balance of skepticism and hope required to
evaluate it. I don’t want to miss the forest for the trees. I think it's
also my responsibility to grapple with the question of whether it's
ethical to undertake this exploration at all. But if it’s here to stay,
I’d like our coexistence to be fruitful and harmonious.
As I do this, I'm keeping one eye looking past where artificial
intelligence is right now—especially in today's consumer technology. Few
innovations emerge into society perfectly formed, efficient in function
and cost, solving exactly the problem they set out to solve, and causing
no disruption. Half our cool shit comes from the military, after all.
So my stance is this: I choose to seek the good in this new
technology rather than be paralyzed by its capacity for harm. I choose
to advocate for patience in its development, compassion in its
distribution, and skepticism in its interpretation. I choose to
scrutinize its impact on our environment. I choose to oppose its use in
manipulating honest people into believing dishonest things. But equally:
I choose to be inspired by its potential. At least then, no matter where
we end up, I could honestly say I tried to be guided by optimism.
And I hope I’m not the only one, because the other camps seem
to be nihilism, greed, and apathy—and we have enough of all that in the
world as it is.