Thanks! And as always when talking with people in ethics part of the answer is: It depends... Short scoop: not doomed - but outcomes follow data + design + incentives.If we feed biased data and optimize only for clicks/costs, we get messy results. If we set good guardrails (testing, transparency, human-in-the-loop) and align incentives, AI is actually useful (think medical topics).Two checks I use: Who benefits, who’s left out? Could a non-expert understand and contest the decision? (If not, fix the interface/process.)Happy to share checklists/templates in follow-ups. I find it genuinely exciting to live right now, in a moment when so many sci-fi scenarios are either coming true - or not. Dystopia or utopia isn’t prewritten; it can go both ways. Our generations are the ones setting the path, choice by choice, design by design. TL;DR: Not apocalypse - governance and good habits. (Also, ducks remain skeptical but supportive.)
Exactly! I’ll be fighting for the Star Trek version. I often use Trek in class to help students imagine a pro-social, science-plus-ethics utopia. We need more positive narratives - if people only hear Terminator-style doom, they disengage.
AI is a hammer, and we can choose to build with it: open science, fair access, transparency, accountability - so when we ask “who benefits?”, the answer could be everyone.
Count me in for shaping that bright future with our AI hammer 🖖
Thanks! And as always when talking with people in ethics part of the answer is: It depends... Short scoop: not doomed - but outcomes follow data + design + incentives.If we feed biased data and optimize only for clicks/costs, we get messy results. If we set good guardrails (testing, transparency, human-in-the-loop) and align incentives, AI is actually useful (think medical topics).Two checks I use: Who benefits, who’s left out? Could a non-expert understand and contest the decision? (If not, fix the interface/process.)Happy to share checklists/templates in follow-ups. I find it genuinely exciting to live right now, in a moment when so many sci-fi scenarios are either coming true - or not. Dystopia or utopia isn’t prewritten; it can go both ways. Our generations are the ones setting the path, choice by choice, design by design.
TL;DR: Not apocalypse - governance and good habits. (Also, ducks remain skeptical but supportive.)
Thank you for the great detailed reply! My assessment of how AI will be used aligns with yours, specifically the question: "Who benefits?"
I view AI like a hammer.
A hammer can be used to build houses or it can be used as a weapon against the defenseless.
All a matter of who wields it and for what purpose do they use it?
While I'd enjoy the future if it went Star Trek, there's also the chance it will go Terminator.
These are indeed exciting times to be alive!
-cheers
Exactly! I’ll be fighting for the Star Trek version. I often use Trek in class to help students imagine a pro-social, science-plus-ethics utopia. We need more positive narratives - if people only hear Terminator-style doom, they disengage.
AI is a hammer, and we can choose to build with it: open science, fair access, transparency, accountability - so when we ask “who benefits?”, the answer could be everyone.
Count me in for shaping that bright future with our AI hammer 🖖