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I’ve been reading a lot about AI recently. There are a lot of views ranging from “it’s the best thing for us” through to “it’ll be the end of us”. But there is always the “big threat” that has the capability to destroy or radically impact life as we know it. When I was younger (much younger!), the atomic bomb would be the end of the World, and now there are meteorites that could hit earth, there’s the latest mutating virus, there’s terrorism, the lack of fossil fuels, lack of water, global warming, and the list goes on and on…

So does AI pose a greater risk than these? Who knows!

I agree the scary thing about AI is that it has the potential to develop a “mind” of its own, to do what it is programmed to do without ever stopped, to do things that we have no control over. If sci-fi becomes reality, it could actually develop a consciousness that sees humans as a threat. But then is this any different from a mutating virus created in nature (or a lab!) that attacks humans and turns us all into zombies or worse for example?

But all of these are possibilities, not realities. They are all bad bad outcomes for humans, for the planet, for our future. It can be useful to be aware of these possible outcomes, but isn’t it more beneficial to focus on the creations that serve us rather than harm us. I’m a big believer of our focus creating our reality, and if we continue to focus on the bad side of AI, it’ll be the predominant creation that comes from it. If we focus on creating AI that serves us, then that will be the predominant creation that comes from it. Yes, there will be people who create AI for the wrong reasons, and they’ll cause harm, misery and probably death to a lot of people, but these people are already doing that with there current weapon of choice. AI is their tool, not their reason.

Creating an AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) is the chance for us to create a new form of life that has never existed before. That’s a huge responsibility for humanity. That’s equally as big as creating a new life in our own image, and for those of us who are parents, we know that is a huge responsibility. AI could change the world for better or worse, but so could a new baby. We could all be the father or mother of a new megolomaniac.

I for one would love to create AGI at this level. It has the opportunity to radically transform our future in a purposeful way. It opens up a whole world of new moral and ethical questions that we are only just starting to consider, but every growth opportunity does that in some shape or form.

So my call is that we lead with a love for our planet, humanity, our World in everything we do. In relation to AI, I ask that we also embrace these changes that are coming in a way that changes our lives for the better. Let’s create with a higher purpose in mind and let’s see what unfolds.