Abdication

A follow-up to yesterday’s post got me thinking: If we don’t decide, who will?

Jeff Jarvis writes,

“It is vital that we — workers, students, academics, creators, citizens — take charge of this new technology and of the discussion about its effects. We must define progress not in terms of the AI boys’ bullshit — AGI (artificial general intelligence), ASI (artificial superintelligence), the end of labor, the colonization of unlivable Mars, a world post-humans — but in human terms: dignified work; shared wealth; the benefits of science, art, and creativity; education for all; equity and justice; and community. It is our future we need to map, a task far too vital to leave to programmers and capitalists.”

I couldn't agree more with this. As cognitive overload and complexity ramp up, it is easy to assume this is someone else's problem. Complexity gives us permission to stay in the analysis loop indefinitely. There's always more to understand, more to wait for, someone more qualified to weigh in. Eventually, the abdication doesn't feel like abdication at all; it feels like due diligence.