Are we worrying about the wrong things when it comes to AI?

The last year has seen no shortage of AI news, from scandals with the Pope to deep fakes of Taylor Swift. At the same time, predictions of how AI will transform the economy have run rampant, whether in terms of transforming the world economy or unlocking billions of dollars of growth. This year has also seen a rise in the use of AI tools as a weapon of war in conflict hotspot across the globe.

Simultaneously, leaders from across Silicon Valley have been doing their best to influence AI regulation and policy, such as Sam Altman's tour of Europe last year. However, after a year of the AI hype deep questions are being asked about the ethics under the hood of systems such as ChatGPT, like if it should have access to copyrighted material.

What is more concerning than anything is the ideology of those who wish to pursue the creation of consciousness. What would be the use of a conscious (or conscious seeming) tool that seems to be the ideology of enslavement? I am worried about the power the people who would want to create this sort of future have been given.

I have come to think of this idealistic search much like the pursuit of alchemy - ultimately likely to fail, possibly dangerous, though we may get discoveries such as out of the process.

Regarding regulation, I am more concerned about the people and their goals than what the technology might be capable of. We should not shy away from regulating those who are creating AI, though the prediction of an AI takeover is likely to be exaggerated.

I think that, at least for small businesses, there is a great deal of potential for AI. I think that the new AI tools can help them find the pinch points, time sinks and find ways to free up more time to do the things they are good at. Using ChatGPT to create a first draft of a consent form, proofread your report, or write the last paragraph of a blog post are small tasks that can absorb an inordinate amount of time, and we can save that time.

But AI is never going to create a better world and is never going to imagine a better future. It will give you the next likely point on the trend graph. All these tools do is repeat and reproduce the current trends. If we want a better future, a different future, then we need people who are creative and courageous - to imagine a tomorrow that is better than today. People will change the world.