THE POWER OF ONE

Do I even matter? World experts disagree about just about everything: who will win the Superbowl this year, what the universe is fundamentally made from, whether artificial intelligence (AI) will save or end humanity. If the “experts” can’t figure out such fundamental problems, what hope is there that a commoner such as myself could? I was one of 158,397,726 voters that cast their ballot in the 2020 US presidential election. If I had skipped voting, the tally would have dropped all the way down to 158,397,725, but nothing else would have changed. Not one of the races or one of the local ballot measures would have been reversed. Some trends, such as automation/AI are so large that they are referred to as megatrends. They are so large that they affect just about everything and aren’t affected by just about anything. If world wars, global pandemics, and Taylor Swift can’t affect the automation/AI megatrend then what hope is there that I could? Do I even matter?

Learn. The first step in mattering is to learn. To matter in the world of AI, one needs to learn about the world of AI. However, much about AI, particularly its future, is not agreed upon or is completely unknown: whether AI will help or harm humanity, whether humans will maintain control over AI, if and when AI will achieve superhuman intelligence, for example. Currently, we can only assemble an incomplete, fuzzy picture about what the future of AI may look like. But that shouldn’t stop us from trying. We never have a complete, perfect picture of any situation. In fact, the human brain is specifically wired to deal with incomplete, imperfect data! We can start by focusing on the aspects of AI that are certain: AI is already here and affecting humanity, AI is advancing rapidly and has incredible potential for the future (both positive and negative), and AI systems like neural networks are incredibly complicated making any predictions about the future of AI highly uncertain. In addition to such general observations, we can learn the known facts about AI: its past and current status, which countries are investing in AI, and key people and organizations in AI. Learning such details will begin to fill in our incomplete, fuzzy picture of the future of AI.

Vote. Freedom isn’t free. Freedom in a society is accompanied by the responsibility to contribute to that society. Voting in elections is certainly one important contribution, but there are also other ways to “vote.” We certainly can (and should) vote for candidates/policies that would steer society towards a better AI future (whichever one you prefer). But we can also “vote” with our pocketbooks. When paying for any goods or services, we are essentially voting for them; paying for them motivates companies to produce more. If you prefer a future with increased AI, purchase AI companions, AI generated artwork, and self-driving cars. If you prefer a future with less automation/AI and more human created/performed goods and services, then ditch the AI companions for real ones, purchase unique, human-made arts and crafts, and enjoy driving yourself down the road. More generally, we can “vote” with our legs. We already regularly interact with AI and can “vote” for/against the technology by interacting/avoiding it. If you prefer a future with more AI/automation, use the automated checkout at the grocery store, continue using social media based on AI, and keep listening to your AI assistants. If not, if you prefer a future that is more human and less machine, use your gut instincts to make coaching decisions, dial “0” to speak directly to an actual human when calling for help, and ask your friends for show recommendations instead of Netflix. When you have learned enough to decide which AI future you prefer, there is no shortage of ways to “vote” for that future. You can matter.

Lead. After learning about AI, and voting with your ballots, pocketbook, and feet, if you still want to do more, then it’s time to become an AI leader. Can one person really lead humanity towards a better endgame of automation/AI? Alondra Nelson oversaw the release of the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights to help protect the American public in the age of AI. Geoffrey Hinton, often called the godfather of AI, made significant contributions to both AI development (particularly in the field neural networks) and in educating humanity about the potential dangers of AI. Abraham Maslow made significant advancements in the understanding of the basic needs of humanity, helping to define what makes a life “good,” and indirectly aiding humanity in determining where to ideally steer the advancement of AI. One person really can impact the endgame of automation. 

There are many ways for us to impact the endgame of automation/AI. We do matter!