GoKawiilWhen it comes to discussing artificial intelligence, two camps seem to be the loudest. One believes AI will bring about humanity's collapse: the "doomers." The other believes AI is an incredible, life-changing technology: the "optimists."
Those in the "middle" are often overlooked. They're the skeptics, critics and pragmatists who agree that AI does both good and bad. They see the "never AI" and "AI is magic" camps as reductionist.
This may be cliche, but AI is polarizing, and I'm not surprised.
It's a technology that's moving fast, and its impacts are uneven. AI is simultaneously responsible for thousands losing their jobs while also streamlining work for some. Chatbot psychosis is harming mental health and, in extreme cases, leading to deaths. Yet the tech is also powering medical breakthroughs that could save lives.
Depending on who you ask, it's often either our biggest technological opportunity or our greatest existential threat.
Heading into South by Southwest last month, a massive tech and culture conference held annually in Austin, Texas, I wouldn't have been able to define exactly which camp I fit into. After SXSW, I count myself among the optimists. Albeit an extremely cautious one.
It's perfectly reasonable to feel fear about AI, but the black-and-white thinking that pervades doomerism isn't sustainable. It isn't just exhausting, it's paralyzing, a mindset we can't afford right now. If we genuinely believe AI is going to destroy everything, what exactly are we supposed to do? Sit in dread until the end? Wait on pins and needles for everything to collapse? Withdraw? Panic? Attack?
This won't lead to better outcomes or a better future. It just leads to more anger, fear, anxiety and a sense of fatalism that makes action that much harder.
I was dwelling on these very emotions before attending SXSW. But then I heard something I think I really needed to hear. In the final moments of a session led by Spotify's co-CEO, Gustav Söderström, he brought out David Friedberg, CEO of Ohalo, an agricultural tech company, to discuss the future of music, creativity and authenticity in the age of AI.
Friedberg offered his opinions on the tension between techno-pessimism and techno-optimism. He said this doom-and-gloom attitude makes us worse. "The fear of tomorrow is what makes everyone turn against each other," Friedberg said. When we're afraid of what's to come, we blame the people around us.
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