George Dyson on AI

My good friend Chris Michel recently photographed George Dyson, thinker, historian, and writer. The topic of “AI” came up, and I found this worth noting.

He’s less concerned about the usual apocalyptic fears and more interested in a quieter erosion: that “Good AI,” the kind that works too well, might slowly displace our capacity to reason. That we’ll gradually delegate too much, our judgment, our critical thinking, even our curiosity, to systems we’ve designed to serve us. It’s not the monster at the gate that troubles him. It’s the soft, helpful voice we welcome in.

In conversation with Chris Michel

I have been using the AI services. I can agree with Dyson’s assertions. It is easy to hand over the idea of creation to the “AI” systems, very quickly forgetting that the act of creation is part of the reason you create. I had started to separate the act of creation from the process. The latter is where AI can help speed up things. But the act of creation is still mine, analog and spiritual.

It is how I have found my own balance in the constantly changing technology landscape. I still like the idea of knowing the roads, streets, and locations. However, I don’t mind the GPS systems telling me when I am wandering off course.

The lure of technology has always been how much we tend to give in to the convenience of it. With AI systems we have today, that convenience feels much more personal and deferential. As humans we like when people, or machines don’t argue with us.

Additional Reading: My Essay: Technology & us: it’s complicated.