Has there been a more polarising technology development than AI? Well, yes. Yes there has.
From the printing press to the internet, humanity has historically been awful at forecasting the impact of disruptive new technologies.
Neither the tech doomsayers (“the printing press/radio/automation/internet will take our jobs”), nor the tech evangelists (“the printing press/radio/automation/internet will set us free”), get their predictions right. The world is too complex and people too weird to know how things will really play out.
Despite this, our feeds are full of both confidently positive and stridently negative stories about AI. Perpetuating an endless cycle of doomsday scrolling, the media is currently having a field day with all the negative narratives about AI.
But renowned venture capitalist Marc Andreessen wants to set the record straight. He believes AI will save the world. Grounded in his assessment of technology’s benefits to mankind, Andreesen lays out the case for giving AI a chance by not restricting its growth. His argument? Learn from history.
In the past, overregulating new technology (or indeed, anything) has tended to stifle the creation of equitable value – channelling the benefits towards monopolistic companies and bad actors who can both steer and afford to conform to (or benefit from) stringent regulation.
As an early investor in tech companies like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, Andreessen should know.
Will AI technologies save the world? Let’s see. In the meantime, I for one agree with the sentiment that we should at least give it a decent go.
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