“The only thing growing faster than the artificial intelligence industry may be Americans’ negative feelings about it,” said the Wall Street Journal, as Eric Schmidt discovered last week. The former head of Google was met with “huge boos” when he boldly explained the coming “technological revolution” at the University of Arizona’s graduation ceremony.
He wasn’t the first. The AI industry’s claims that AI will improve people’s lives are being challenged everywhere you look. “Consumers are outraged by soaring energy prices, made worse by the proliferation of data centers. Workers fear widespread unemployment. Parents worry that AI will undermine education and harm children’s mental health.” The “wave of anger” sparked protests, undermined the election results, and sparked isolated acts of violence. The mood is not helped by the industry’s tendency to dismiss such concerns as the petty concerns of what one executive recently described as “cavemen.”
“What about people who don’t have access?”
There is also great anxiety in corporate boardrooms, particularly about the potentially devastating impact AI will have on cybersecurity, The New York Times’ DealBook said. The ability of Anthropic’s new AI model, Mythos, to penetrate the most hardened systems could raise the bar in the battle between IT departments and hackers.
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The company tried to avoid harm by forming Project Glasswing, a group of about 50 companies and banks that aims to test Mythos and find vulnerabilities in the software before malicious attackers do. But another big concern has arisen. “What happens to people who don’t have access to the tools?” The question of how to share threat data while restricting access is a big challenge. It is expected that lawsuits will be filed.
“It is rarely wise to delay change.”
Jonathan Bunyan told CNBC that AI is all about the haves and have-nots. “Across the tech industry, workers are watching stock prices soar as employers cut jobs.” In fact, even those with jobs could see their earning power dwindle as AI companies “drive up the price of land and energy,” The Economist said. In a truly dystopian future, humans could become “uneconomic,” “like horses in the automobile age.” The fiscal implications for governments are dire. what should they do? It is rarely wise to delay change.
It would be better to take measures, such as a combination of smart tax reform and safety nets. The idea that South Korea will give “dividends” to its citizens from AI business has even been floated. “We need to tackle rent concentration early, before renters get too powerful.” The end of jobs is not yet here, but governments waiting for conclusive evidence of it will be too late to act. Better start now.
