In the Age of AIs, What Are Humans Good For?
For millennia, it has been an article of faith and fact that humans ruled the Earth. The Bible decreed it. Aristotle proclaimed it. And there is a decent argument to…
We can create a great future, but it will require new infrastructure, policies and norms
“How our individual lives and society will change with the diffusion of AI depends less on technological innovations and more on policies and institutional arrangements in which they develop. It…
AI threatens to require society to redefine ‘what it means to be a person’ in the digital realm
“The outcome by 2040 depends a great deal, if not entirely, upon the regulatory framework created around AI. If we just consider the Internet, there have certainly been areas where…
AI systems are being taught to ‘master the game of humans’
“I’d like to explain the concept of sentient AI and the ‘arrival-mind paradox.’ As I look to the year 2040, I believe AI systems will likely become super-intelligent and sentient….
Focus on the long-term welfare of people and society: Ask not what AI can do but what WE can ask it to do
“The question of the future of humans and AI seems impossible to answer because of unexplainable humans, not because of unexplainable AI. So much depends on our use and control of…
Augmented intelligence can inspire humanity to significantly upgrade everything
“Ideally, in 2040 the transition to the self-actualization economy will have begun. We will have come a long way since the 2020s. For the first time in history, humanity will…
Given AI’s great potential, preventing it from turning into the sorcerer’s apprentice is the primary challenge
“I view this question as depending on what happens to current AI, meaning in practice, to current generative AI. For purposes of this exercise, let’s consider two possible outcomes for…
What happens to humans’ authenticity and autonomy when they are augmented with AI?
“As we look to the future, we might assume that the biggest existential threats to humanity lie in climate change and nuclear wars. As massive as those problems are, they…
There is likely to be an AI-driven war over people’s minds and emotions
“By 2040, for most of the population, AI’s daily influence will appear to be rather benign and quite useful, but the purveyors of AI will invest their efforts toward creating…
The questions are, ‘Can humans say “no” to AI, and can AI say “no” to humans?’
“There are two critical uncertainties as we imagine 2040 scenarios: “In other words, can humans say ‘no’ to AI, and can AI say ‘no’ to humans? Note that the existence…