Editorial

AI is playing an increasingly larger part in our lives and the world around us. By some projections, we will have AGI, or Artificial General Intelligence, in less than a decade. Some are even arguing we are already there. Regardless of this timeline, it is clear that AI unchecked has potentials to cause great harms. Can we control or contain AI such that we can stop those harms? It’s not easy.

There are several ways to define Artificial Intelligence (AI), but the question is — does it matter? This editorial argues that instead of getting lost in the definitional issues, we should focus on designing systems and experiences that allow us to solve problems and accomplish tasks.

Experts often present two differing views here for how to make AI safe and secure: give it away for free and distribute it widely like open-source software, or keep it contained and regulated like nuclear energy. I believe there is a third option – something that stems from parenting.

Google’s recent announcement about “AI Overviews” has created divisive reception. On one hand, it’s helping us by giving a shortcut to an answer and saving us effort to sift through a bunch of results. On the other hand, this shortcut robs us of our agency and ability to verify, question, and learn. Is this the future we want for accessing and interacting with information?

In the last two decades, AI has advanced leaps and bounds to the point where we are seriously having conversations about ‘it’ being ‘intelligent’ as humans or even surpassing humans. But before we get too wrapped up in that excitement or fear, it’s important that we look inwards and ask — what makes us intelligent, conscious, and human?

Large language models (LLMs) are starting to get integrated in many of our daily information access activities. But they often hallucinate and provide information that can be harmful. We can’t and shouldn’t trust them blindly, but what choice we have if they become our primary method of accessing information? We want to leverage the enormous potential LLMs have, but we also want them to be trustworthy. How do we do this? I offer three specific suggestions.

Modern AI advancements are full of hopes and hypes and some horrors. The question is – can we address those horrors enough? Or is there a choice to make between autonomy and authority? How will that choice play out in a real world scenario?

There are plenty of hopes and hypes about AI these days, but what is often lacking in these conversations is a set of questions that are more fundamental than what AI could, should and would do. These questions are about what we consider as intelligence, free will, and indeed what it is to be a human. The answers are not going to be easy or fast, but starting to ask these questions could help pave the way for not just the future of AI, but also the future of humankind.