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AI at the tipping point: danger to information, promise for creativity
Artificial intelligence is on everyone's mind these days.
But while some people are using tools like ChatGPT to write a college essay, others are thinking about how to deploy the same tech to beat the stock market — or, if you're a sneaky politician, perhaps rig an election on social media. The potential for AI to mess up democracy is scary, but the truth is that it can also make the world a better place.
So, are bots good or bad for us? We asked a few experts to weigh in during the Global Stage livestream conversation "Risks and Rewards of AI," hosted by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft at this year's World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group and GZERO, shares his thoughts on why we're at a tipping for AI as a geopolitical risk, why the threat of disinformation has displaced the digital divide in Davos conversations, and why AI is our best shot to fight climate change. Also, he asks, what'll happen when the use of bots becomes so widespread that we start treating humans like them?
Brad Smith, president of Microsoft, explains why he thinks 2023 will be an inflection point for AI and why the tech can actually help everybody if it's developed correctly — for instance by spurring critical thinking. In response to a tough question, he defends Microsoft's recent decision to invest big in OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT.
Eileen Donahoe, executive director of Stanford University's Global Digital Policy Incubator, wades into the debates over who should regulate AI and if should be banned. She’s as worried about the actual implications of AI for human rights as the menace of bots becoming smart, if not someday smarter, than humans.
Azeem Azhar, founder of the Exponential View newsletter, digs into how corporations are tooling up to be ready to go nuts on AI when the time is right, why open-source AI is a non-linear technological advancement, and why democracies are still ahead of China in the race to dominate AI in the future.
- Be very scared of AI + social media in politics ›
- Can we control AI before it controls us? ›
- Be more worried about artificial intelligence ›
- Kai-fu Lee: What's next for artificial intelligence? ›
- Larry Summers: Which jobs will AI replace? - GZERO Media ›
- Global Stage: Global issues at the intersection of technology, politics, and society - GZERO Media ›
“Essential workers” and the inequality of work
Organizational psychologist Adam Grant discusses the "essential workers" who kept the world going throughout the pandemic and didn't get to work from home. According to Grant, the US should be rethinking its policy on essential work. "Where was hazard pay for all the teachers? For all the medical professionals? For all the warehouse workers who put their lives at risk to keep the world running, and to try to keep the economy alive as well?" asked Grant, in an interview with Ian Bremmer on GZERO World.
Watch the episode: Adam Grant reimagines work after COVID
Adam Grant reimagines work after COVID
As the pandemic recedes in some parts of the world, many employers—from Fortune 500 CEOs to small business owners—are bringing their workers back to the office full time. The thing is, not all of those employees want to go back. On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer speaks with renowned organizational psychologist Adam Grant about how to reimagine "work" in a post-pandemic world. Plus, a look at how the paid family leave benefits in the United States stack up to other developed nations (hint: not so great).
- 2.6 billion people: “WTF is WFH?” - GZERO Media ›
- Adam Grant on post-pandemic WFH: CEOs still don't get it - GZERO ... ›
- The Graphic Truth: Can we work only 4 days a week? - GZERO Media ›
- Work in 60 Seconds: Company Culture - GZERO Media ›
- The Graphic Truth: New digital jobs in a post-pandemic world ... ›
Will the next president bridge the digital divide?
Nicholas Thompson, editor-in-chief of WIRED, helps us make sense of today's stories in technology:
What are the biggest tech questions that will be facing the next president after the election and will they do anything about them?
I think the biggest question might be the digital divide. In an era of the pandemic where schools are online, medicine is moving online, work is moving online. It is a tragedy that there are 160 million people in this country who do not have good broadband access. And that's a failure of policy in many, many ways. That is a huge issue. I also think the tech dynamics with China are a huge issue, and I think that figuring out the government's role in regulating and supporting startups in artificial intelligence is huge. Will the candidates do anything about them? Joe Biden might do something about the digital divide. Donald Trump has actually been okay on AI, but tech policy has been a disaster under Trump and probably won't be a priority under Biden.
What happened at the Section 230 hearings this week?
Well, one thing that didn't happen, we didn't talk about Section 230. A total missed opportunity for the Senate to actually debate and reconfigure a really important law that is foundational to the internet. But it is a partisan moment, a few days before election, and sadly, it's what I expected.