I hate AI. And I always thought that backlash was coming. “AI sucks!” But what I didn’t expect was that it would be led by people even younger than me. “Artificial Intelligence.” “AI” “Artificial Intelligence.” At graduation ceremonies this spring, you may have seen graduates getting booed when they mentioned AI. “Interesting.” “Whew.” Not grumpy middle-aged Luddites, but digital natives who have grown up with this technology. “I’m not going to trust AI anymore.” “The people who are making this stuff are losers.” In a New York Times poll released in May, 47% of voters under 30 said AI would do more harm than good, the highest percentage of any age group. The situation is especially dire for new graduates. Because the entry-level jobs they were trained for are being systematically eradicated by AI. And when you apply for a job, you’re submitting your resume to this Kafkaesque AI underworld where you don’t know if a real person will ever see it. “If AI improves productivity and economic growth across the economy, how can we ensure that workers share in the benefits once and for all?” I spoke with Bharat Ramamurti. He noted that other countries have taken stronger approaches to regulating AI, and as a result, people seem to feel more comfortable with it. For example, in the Nordic countries there is something called sectoral bargaining, which allows people to conduct a type of negotiation on behalf of the entire profession. In the United States, people are already experiencing great insecurity in their economic lives, and AI has made it even worse. “Let’s deal with it. Like I said, this is a tool.” There are a lot of layoffs related to AI. “AI models learn by doing, by watching really smart people do things.” AI has been cited as a reason for big companies to cut benefits. This is basically used as a lever to say that expectations can be lower in the workplace because people are replaceable. “The question is, can you help shape artificial intelligence?” “Boo!” As the American public becomes increasingly hostile to AI, “each one of us will be required to adapt in ways we cannot yet foresee.” The AI industry is responding by funneling more money into the political system, both through lobbying and dark money. They are becoming one of the biggest spenders. And ironically, I think this only exacerbates the anger and frustration that people feel. Because I feel like we have here a giant corporation led by an unruly oligarchy that is going to remake our society and say you have no say. There is a connection between this intense hostility toward AI and a very legitimate sense that our governments have failed us. I think if people believed more that their government could take advantage of this technology, they wouldn’t think of the technology itself as so dystopian. But people understand that they will be left in this country at the mercy of the market. And I think, in a way, that’s what they’re booing. Your career begins at the beginning of the AI revolution. rise. It’s the next industrial revolution. Oh, that’s amazing. It struck a chord with me. Can I finish? Just a few years ago, AI was not an element of our lives. but. right. OK, there’s a bipolar topic here. I see. got it. And now, AI capabilities are in our hands. I love it. passion. Let’s go. got it. Let me make this point. For the previous 50 years, streaming had rewritten the economic landscape. Social media has rewritten the discovery model. AI is rewriting production. As we sit here. i know it. Please deal with it. As I said earlier, this is a tool. Hey, like I said, it can be done. Hey, like I said, it can be done. You can ask now or pay later. It’s rational, and it’s amplified every day by social media platforms with algorithms that have learned very accurately that fear gets clicks and anxiety drives engagement. But I want to make it as clear as possible to you tonight that to talk about the future as if it is already determined is to abandon one thing that actually matters. You are giving up your own agency. The future does not come easily. It will be built with labs, dorms, startups, classrooms, senators, and people buildings. It’s you and people like you. The question is not whether I shape the world. it is. The question is, can you help shape artificial intelligence? I don’t understand. We do not know the exact contours of what this change will look like. But what we do know is that each of us will have to adapt in ways we cannot yet predict. My hope is that you choose to be involved wherever you are, choose to be in the rooms where these decisions are made, and have a voice.
