AI is Exciting
Musing about the negative potential of AI is fashionable. That is not my view. Artificial intelligence is a transformative technology. There are many ways it is being used for good. I can think of evil things that immoral people will do with it.
Two forces have marked successful countries throughout history. Decentralized democratic governance and technical innovation. These forces have driven improvements in people's circumstances. Technology has accelerated this trend.
It's flawed to believe AI is bad because it replaces people. Individuals choose to do bad or good. To be motivated or lazy. Technology enables personal choice.
AI will enable more gains than the steam engine. The personal computer, cell phones, the internet, and genetic engineering. It will also bring job displacement. If AI is available to everyone, the benefits will exceed the transition costs. Governments will help workers who lose their jobs find new ones. Productivity and growth will pay for it.
Learning how to channel this technology to improve your productivity is our responsibility. We can choose to use it in lazy ways or to enhance our value. Helping other people to use this technology will be in demand. Thinking about the potential of AI is exciting. I'm using it to learn faster and create in ways I wasn't trained to do. That is motivating and fun.
Imagine students being able to talk history with a virtual George Washington. Talk about physics with Albert Einstein, or plan a non-violent protest movement with Martin Luther King Jr. Consider building a business using software agents without knowing how to write code. Imagine the elderly living independent lives longer through AI-enabled robotics.
Preventing negative effects is prudent as long as we don't kill the benefits. History has demonstrated that dynamism beats stasis.