Bookmarked AI maximalists and the danger of social Darwinism

The “embrace AI or else” ethos conveniently ignores one crucial fact: artificial intelligence is a product of human choices and values, not some divine force of nature. We are not passive bystanders in the AI revolution, helplessly swept along by the currents of technological change. We have the power to shape the development and deployment of AI systems by our deepest-held principles and aspirations. We can create an AI future that empowers rather than subjugates humanity and creates shared prosperity rather than entrenched inequality.

This is something I still believe in. Maybe dream of. We don’t have to be innocent bystanders. We have the means and the mass to have a say in our own future. Vote, demonstrate, DIY, organize. It is not easy. We don’t all have the budgets and teams as Big Tech companies have. This sentiment was very prevalent at the Public Spaces Conference last week. We don’t have to be dependent on private companies or give everything to the state. There is a third option, which is based on public values. As Joan writes in the above article as well,

It requires a massive mobilization of political will and civic engagement to counteract the laissez-faire social Darwinism that animates so much of current AI rhetoric and policy. It requires a steadfast commitment to democratic oversight and control over robust AI systems and the unaccountable tech corporations developing them.

AI maximalists and the danger of social Darwinism