What Does Progress Mean?: Harnessing—and Limiting—AI in the Age of Innovation

Stories are designed to move the masses.

That was my first idea while watching this inspiring discussion between Yuval Noah Harari and Ian Bremmer at The 92nd Street Y. During the conversation, these thought leaders opened up about many of the challenges we’re facing today, and I was struck by how easy it would be to solve some of humanity’s greatest problems if we were only willing to engage and empathize with others.

We can solve many of the world’s challenges, such as climate change, by using less than 5% of the world’s greatest resources. But those in power simply aren’t interested in sharing these resources—or their control, and/or remain ignorant to the facts. Ignorance is a PEST for humanity. Sharing our knowledge and spreading ideas is critical—and those who have this knowledge have a responsibility to spread awareness.

The fact is, we need a leadership change. We need to democratize resources. The power, frankly, is shifting away from humans, and we’re seeing that happen before our very eyes. Nothing is more emblematic of this than artificial intelligence.

While AI has certainly offered humanity plenty of benefits, it’s also a risk. We’re starting to lose power over a very thing we created. How, then, do we control AI?

My answer is this: We control the use of AI, not solely by regulating it but also by governing it ourselves, putting the power back in the hands of the people.

Time and Inevitability

What do the most momentous changes in the history of humanity have in common? Time.

In the discussion between Harari and Bremmer, Harari explored the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. This exemplifies the reality that there are few things in life that are guaranteed.

We must have patience. I’ve learned that from being a father. For example, time and time again, I’ve told my kids not to put their fingers in electrical sockets. And yet they haven’t heeded that warning. But they had to go through that journey themselves before realizing the very real consequences of their actions.

People have to go through it. Period.

We see this in the conflict. We know what Putin is doing is wrong. Sadly, suffering and horror need to take place, and time needs to pass, before the world has fully understood that. Now, future leaders will take note.

The same is true of a dark time in our history: when we dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. This led the world to fully understand the unimaginable consequences of using such enormous power.

I believe the same is true of AI. Humanity knows the potentially catastrophic outcome of AI, yet our faith remains inevitable. My problem with this is simple: AI has no Control Z. There is no ‘get me out of here.’ There is no path back to humanity. And that’s an incredibly heavy price to pay.

The Problem: A Human-Minded Approach

In most instances, we can’t fully know the outcome of a challenge. Our “human-minded” approach isn’t always working. We have to keep questioning everything we’ve been taught to believe. And as Harari opines, we’re running out of time.

This is certainly true of technology. We rely heavily on our phones and computers to entertain us, do our work, and essentially live our lives. What’s the alternative? Be human! Go outside. Get fresh air. Rely less on technology to live our lives for us. Tap into our own humanity. We are capable of thinking, choosing, and deciding.

But we need to keep making progress. Our future depends on us taking action through that humanity. AI can be extraordinarily helpful if we use it responsibly. When we don’t, AI presents an obstacle. And how can we progress when one of the world’s greatest innovations is overpowering us? What does progress even mean in this context?

We’re all facing the pressure to keep up. Because if my competitors are using AI, then I have to, too. That’s not necessarily a negative—AI has many positive applications. But too often, we’re not approaching it for good.

This is an overly transactional model, and creativity and innovation should never be transactional. Instead, we need to make serious challenges to these outdated thought patterns.

The Transactional Model Isn’t Working

I recently read an article about OpenAI and Reddit forming a partnership so ChatGPT will include information from the social networking forum. This, to me, presents a problem: It takes the power out of users’ hands. What was once a democratic platform is now a for-profit engine for OpenAI. Meanwhile, Reddit users get nothing in exchange for their contributions. We need a fairer model!

Another part of the problem? Humanity gives its best self to AI. AI can tell people what to do and think. And Reddit users won’t even be aware that they are losing their own authenticity. Reddit users are essentially working for OpenAI for free, dispensing information without their knowledge.

Conclusion

With so much dependence on technology, we need to take a step back and not let tech control us. It’s time to reevaluate who has power and why. We must control AI—first by controlling ourselves as human beings.

Stories do have power. We need to tell a new one.