[Lex Computer & Tech Group/LCTG] Thu Dec 4 7PM: Will Artificial Intelligence Be the End of Civilization, or the Beginning?

[Mitchell I. Wolfe]

http://www.gbcacm.org/seminars/evening/2025/will-artificial-intelligence-be-end-civilization-or-beginning.html

MIT Room 32-G449 (Kiva) and online via Zoom
Boston Chapter of the IEEE Computer Society and GBC/ACM

Abstract:

Popular press articles whipsaw the public between two starkly
different views of Artificial Intelligence. On one hand, AI is
presented as a magic genie that can solve all of our problems with
superhuman intelligence. On the other hand, it's presented as an
unprecedented threat to humanity, with the danger of loss of jobs,
loss of privacy, automated discrimination, even some kind of "robot
rebellion". No wonder the public is confused. Which is it?

We present a view that is different from both the self-interested
promotion of the tech companies, and from the pessimism of the social
critics. Believe it or not, the biggest value of AI will lie, not in
simply improving the operations of today's industry and government,
but in making it possible to have a more cooperative, less competitive
world.

Our view is:

• Optimistic. Mitigating possible dangers of AI in today's society is
important. But we don't want to let fear cause us to miss the
potential for AI to tackle big problems people now think are
intractable: war, poverty, climate, etc.

• Radical. Many tech boosters imagine simply pouring AI into today's
economy and electoral politics. We think these systems need to be
redesigned from scratch for the AI era. We have two concrete
proposals: Makerism (economics) and Reasonocracy (governance).

• Original. Not conventionally Left or Right, though our ideas share
some design goals with both sides. Not (yet) heard on mainstream or
activist media.