RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 4 sourcesFor years, regular, non-extremely-wealthy people have been sounding alarms about the dangers AI might have to the economy, the environment , and humanity in general. But now Bill Gates is talking about it , and he thinks more needs to be done. Thank you, Mr. Gates! Finally, a wealthy person has written a nearly 6,000-word blog post ruminating on a major world issue. “AI will either be the greatest equalizer ever invented, or the worst source of injustice. The challenge is monumental,” Gates writes. “Unfortunately, right now we are not preparing for it. I don’t see evidence that leaders, experts, and communities are confronting the challenges adequately. There is no plan to ease the entry into the AI era.” And, before you ask, Gates clarifies that “my views on AI are not motivated by the potential to make money for myself.”
So what does Gates think we should do? In fairness, he seems to have pretty decent ideas (even if he is ultimately pro-AI-but-with-regulation). He correctly identifies the danger AI poses to the job market, to national security, and to children’s development. He believes “we’ll set aside certain things for only people to do,” which he dubs “Human Reserved” domains. However, Gates admits that he’s not totally sure how to enforce this, or anything else, really. “It is great that some AI companies are proposing solutions to challenges raised by their own technology, but we should not expect them to lead the charge,” he writes. “Some of the issues are outside their area of expertise, and in a democratic society it’s not their role to decide these things.”
“You have a chance to act now, before unemployment rises sharply, communities are hurting, and public trust has eroded,” Gates writes towards the end in his “message to leaders” section. “You can make sure AI benefits everyone. And you can work with other governments to meet this national and global challenge.” Not to sound like one of the defeatists that Gates references elsewhere in the story, but the idea of the current United States government doing this is, well… It’s a lovely idea. You can read the whole post here .
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