A monster piece today, JVL. I value your efforts to help us see around corners. Just a coupla comments:
1. I first heard of AI in the 1990s when I worked in tech user support at an aerospace company in what was known then as the Business Systems Dept. One of our programmers was getting a masters in AI at Univ of So Cal (USC), at company e…
A monster piece today, JVL. I value your efforts to help us see around corners. Just a coupla comments:
1. I first heard of AI in the 1990s when I worked in tech user support at an aerospace company in what was known then as the Business Systems Dept. One of our programmers was getting a masters in AI at Univ of So Cal (USC), at company expense. It didn't really show up on my social science-infused radar until recently. ChatGPT came on the scene last year when I was working in a school library. It was Topic A with English teachers. Once Trump came on the scene and destroyed people's ability to distinguish between fact and opinion, and I read Jonathan Rauch's "The Constitution of Knowledge" I knew AI along with climate change were the two greatest threats to humanity.
BTW, thinking about USC's AI program, I checked to see their latest. I thought you'd find this of interest, the USC Center for AI in Society: Collaborating with communities for a more just, healthy, and sustainable world. Their mission is to "develop, test, iterate, and demonstrate how AI can be used to tackle the most difficult societal problems . . . through a partnership with AI and social work" (https://cais.usc.edu/). I would say that's another promising place for AI.
2. Agree the question of what AI will do to the liberal order needs to be investigated. My bet is that American citizenry is NOT prepared to deal with the impact of AI on our '24 presidential election, so we have to find out how to get them up to speed, and fast. SOMEBODY must be thinking about this.
3. Yes, fast revolutions don't allow existing sytems time to adapt. I would point out that the speed of AI development in the US is fueled by private capital, and in a free market, only government can slow that down. Will the Right agree to this violation of their sacred belief? Also, the crude summary of Darwin - "adapt or die" - comes to mind. My bet is that there isn't much slack in our society now for any more disruptions, so we must be prepared for more social unrest and political instability including violence. That's the worst case. The best case is somehow we figure out how to provide for those who can't adapt. We should plan for the worst and hope for the best.
A monster piece today, JVL. I value your efforts to help us see around corners. Just a coupla comments:
1. I first heard of AI in the 1990s when I worked in tech user support at an aerospace company in what was known then as the Business Systems Dept. One of our programmers was getting a masters in AI at Univ of So Cal (USC), at company expense. It didn't really show up on my social science-infused radar until recently. ChatGPT came on the scene last year when I was working in a school library. It was Topic A with English teachers. Once Trump came on the scene and destroyed people's ability to distinguish between fact and opinion, and I read Jonathan Rauch's "The Constitution of Knowledge" I knew AI along with climate change were the two greatest threats to humanity.
BTW, thinking about USC's AI program, I checked to see their latest. I thought you'd find this of interest, the USC Center for AI in Society: Collaborating with communities for a more just, healthy, and sustainable world. Their mission is to "develop, test, iterate, and demonstrate how AI can be used to tackle the most difficult societal problems . . . through a partnership with AI and social work" (https://cais.usc.edu/). I would say that's another promising place for AI.
2. Agree the question of what AI will do to the liberal order needs to be investigated. My bet is that American citizenry is NOT prepared to deal with the impact of AI on our '24 presidential election, so we have to find out how to get them up to speed, and fast. SOMEBODY must be thinking about this.
3. Yes, fast revolutions don't allow existing sytems time to adapt. I would point out that the speed of AI development in the US is fueled by private capital, and in a free market, only government can slow that down. Will the Right agree to this violation of their sacred belief? Also, the crude summary of Darwin - "adapt or die" - comes to mind. My bet is that there isn't much slack in our society now for any more disruptions, so we must be prepared for more social unrest and political instability including violence. That's the worst case. The best case is somehow we figure out how to provide for those who can't adapt. We should plan for the worst and hope for the best.