From Spider-man to AI
Bright and dark versions of AI future, Ted Chiang, Asana's Dustin Moskovitz, and more.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse feels like one of the best, if not the best, films of 2023. Don't worry, though; no spoilers from me here. Why start with Spider-man, then? It's because of Uncle Ben’s famous quote.
“With great power comes great responsibility”
Recently, this has been on my mind whenever I think about AI.
The argument for Democratised AI
You only need to dip your toe in LinkedIn or Twitter for about 20 seconds, and I guarantee you'll scroll past at least one article about AI. The hype is real, and so is the rocketing productisation of AI. These days it's hard to think about any software business that doesn't experiment with it.
AI is exciting and completely intoxicating. In a way, it reminds me of the early days of the web... or at least it reminds me of *my own* early days on the web during the late 90s.
Since the last decade of the 20th century, we have witnessed almost total democratisation of web tech. Virtually anyone with a computer and access to the internet could start to code, design and develop digital products. And countless many, including myself, did. The relatively low entry barrier started a new, fantastic economy, and we never looked back.
I'd like to imagine similar democratisation of AI. We need public, standardised, open-source AI models. We need low-code dev toolkits. We must give the masses the power to experiment, build, and utilise AI. The outcome will be an empowered economy of creators and entrepreneurs.
Power to the people!
There's, of course, another possibility. A vision way darker and, given the nature of humanity, so much closer to reality.
Will A.I. Become the New McKinsey?
If you read one article this weekend, it better be Ted Chiang's Will A.I. Become the New McKinsey?
But first, who's Ted Chiang and why I'm so excited about his views on AI? If the name doesn't ring a bell, what about Arrival? Here we go! Ted Chiang's short story inspired this terrific film! I *love* Ted's thoughtful and provocative storytelling. So I got excited when I found out he had written about AI.
Ted compares AI with McKinsey, a management consultancy, and finds concerning similarities. In Ted's view, AI is solidly steering humanity towards a capitalistic dystopia in which the ultimate power lies in the hands of very few, and workers are put out of jobs and lose their leverage.
Ted dispels the myth of Luddites as haters of technological progress and, instead, views them through the lens of their real goal: economic justice.
"Whenever anyone accuses anyone else of being a Luddite, it's worth asking, is the person being accused actually against technology? Or are they in favour of economic justice? And is the person making the accusation actually in favour of improving people's lives? Or are they just trying to increase the private accumulation of capital?"
Many argue AI will make work way more efficient and even more fulfilling. With historical economic data, Ted counters that technological advancement does not correlate with improvements to our financial standards.
I highly encourage you to read Ted Chiang's article in full here.
(Weak) Counterarguments
Shortly after, Asana's CEO Dustin Moskovitz published his response to Ted Chiang's warnings.
In his article, Dustin provides solid examples illustrating how AI will forever change the way how we work. In his vision, work augmented by AI will become more streamlined, efficient, and perhaps even more enjoyable.
However, Dustin Moskovitz misses the critical point of Chiang's warning. While AI-aided work may become more fun, it remains unclear how this technology might ultimately increase the workers' quality of life.
More on AI from Google and Stuart Russell
While we're on the topic, finish this weekend's AI meditation with Stuart Russell's AI has much to offer humanity. It could also wreak terrible harm. It must be controlled.
Last but not least, check out "how Google is applying AI to benefit people and society" - I love it, but we need way more. It's at least a start.
Let me close with another Spider-man quote.
"Being the fastest isn't the best if you're always wrong."
I hope researchers and businesses racing ahead with AI consider that getting fast to the wrong destination might cost us a lot.
One more thing
Check out The Hard Switch by Owen D. Pomery.
I love graphic novels. I also love to think about the future and to ask 'What if?' questions. Oh, and I *LOVE* it when storytellers use futuristic dystopias to provoke thinking about topics that concern us today.
And that’s it today. Thank you for sticking with me!
Jiri