rotmanmagazine.ca / 65receiving end of things like 5G and small-cell technology, fiber
and data collection methods, and smart cameras. All of these sys-
tems that collect data on citizens to keep them under some form
of control are now being exported. While we’re busy dealing
with market demands in the U.S., China sees AI as a pathway to
a new world order — and one in which it is very much in control.
China isn’t just trying to tweak the trade balance; it is seeking
to gain an absolute advantage over the U.S. in economic power,
workforce development, geopolitical influence, military might,
social clout and environmental stewardship.
With so many people spread out across such a large geo-
graphic space, they are about to see upward social mobility at
a scale that we have never seen before in modern history. They
are grappling with this and trying to figure out how to manage
their population, give it what it wants and still, in the process,
maintain control. And AI is one of the keys to that.
You have developed three broad scenarios for the future of
AI: optimistic, pragmatic and catastrophic. Please summarize
them for us.
Looking ahead under the optimistic scenario, we have made the
best possible decisions about AI. AI’s tribes, universities, the Big
Nine, government agencies, investors, researchers and everyday
people heeded the early warning signs. We’ve shifted AI’s devel-
opmental track, we are collaborating on the future and we’re al-
ready seeing positive, durable change.
Under the pragmatic scenario, we have acknowledged AI’s
problems, but along the way decided to make only minor tweaks
in its developmental track, because AI’s stakeholders aren’t
willing to sacrifice financial gains, make politically unpopular
choices and curb wild expectations in the short term — even if
it means improving our long-term odds of living and thriving
alongside AI. Worse yet, we have ignored China and its plans for
the future.
In the catastrophic scenario, we have completely closed our
eyes to AI’s developmental track. We missed all the signals, ig-
nored the warning signs and failed to actively plan for the future.
We helped the Big Nine compete against itself as we indulged our
consumerist desires, buying the latest gadgets and devices, cel-
ebrating every new opportunity to record our voices and faces,
and submitting to an open pipeline that continually siphoned off
our data. Rather than seeing a wide, colourful spectrum of peo-
ple and their worldviews entering the field of AI via tenure track
positions, top jobs on research teams and managerial roles, we
instead see no change.At this point, which scenario is most likely to occur?
‘At this point’ is key, because it changes with the whims of the
president in my country, and whatever might be happening in
DC at a particular moment in time. I always make determina-
tions based on the data that I have and what we know to be true
today. Given these things, I would say that there is probably a- What is our motivation for AI? Is it aligned with the best
long-term interests of humanity?
2. What are our own biases? What ideas, experiences and
values have we failed to include in our tribe? Who have we
overlooked?3. Have we included people unlike ourselves for the purpose
of making the future of AI better?4. How are the technological, economic and social implica-
tions of AI understood by those involved in its creation?5. What fundamental rights should we have to interrogate the
data sets, algorithms and processes being used to make
decisions on our behalf?6. When and why do those in AI’s tribes feel that it is their
responsibility to address the social implications of AI?- Does the leadership of our organization and our AI tribes
reflect many different kinds of people?
8. Should we continue to compare AI to human thinking, or
is it better for us to categorize it as something different?9. Is it okay to build AI that recognizes and responds to hu-
man emotion?10 .What is the acceptable point at which we are all okay with
AI evolving without humans directly in the loop?10 Questions For AI-Focused Companies