We Are the Architects of AI's Future

Post Responding to LinkedIn and Project Liberty on Controlling AI Future

The nuclear analogy in this LinkedIn post evokes the challenge of containing AI, as explored in The Coming Wave. But another, perhaps more immediate, alternative is investment—the intentional selection of companies and organizations committed to responsible AI development. As AI consumers, we must recognize that our purchases, subscriptions, and engagement with AI products are, in effect, investments.

I was heartened to read in Brave New Word by Sal Khan that OpenAI proactively reached out to Khan Academy to test ChatGPT. This is the kind of collaboration we should foster, expect, and demand from technology companies, organizations, and thought leaders—those who prioritize positive societal impact over short-term gains.

Regulations and consumers alike can be manipulated. True accountability rests with the companies wielding this technology. The trajectory of social media serves as a stark warning: there are Careless People—those who will recklessly pursue AGI for vanity, power, or profit. Just as their influence shaped the landscape of social media, as documented by Project Liberty and reflecting the societal anxieties detailed in The Anxious Generation, their unchecked ambition could lead to similar or even more profound negative consequences with AI and AGI.

Ultimately, we do—and will—have agency over AI and AGI. In no lifetime will AGI exist as a self-sustaining, ultra-mobile intelligence, housed in a batteryless frame, fueled entirely by sustainable organics. That distinction belongs to us—humans.

In the final scene of the 1968 classic Planet of the Apes, Charlton Heston did not condemn technology itself but rather the ‘maniacs’ who wielded it. Here on LinkedIn, we are the consumers, decision-makers, investors, and professionals who will shape AI’s future through the choices we make—who we support, the services we use, and the organizations we trust and partner with to develop responsibly.

Reading List:
The Coming Wave, Mustafa Suleyman, @MustafaSuleyman
Brave New Word, Sal Khan, @SalKhan
Our Biggest Fight, Frank McCourt, @FrankMcCourt
Careless People, Sarah Wynn-Williams, @SarahWynnWilliams
Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt, @JonathanHaidt