AI Hero: Cathy
My son Guillermo told me something some time ago that made me think. He said he wanted to learn computer programming, which probably made me the happiest parent on earth, but he asked for one condition: I had to be with him the entire time. My kids don’t usually ask their parents for help with homework, so why was Guillermo suddenly asking for it? “I’m afraid I may create an AI that turns against me,” was his answer.
Setting aside how little that says about me and my abilities to provide my own family with confidence in AI, Guillermo’s comment was a symptom of something bigger. If society doesn’t trust AI, how is it going to have any positive impact on it?
AI has huge potential to help solve society’s most pressing challenges. Great people are making others’ lives better by dedicating their own to research into new cures for diseases, inclusion of people with disabilities, environmental protection, refugee assistance, and natural disaster intervention, among many other examples.
Empowering those great people with AI can help humanity to take a new look at the problems we are facing. Every single aspect of our lives can potentially be augmented and improved with AI. The positive transformation that AI can create in society is just beginning, and new innovative applications are being introduced every day.
But for positive transformation to happen, AI has to be trusted by society. Every single technological disruption in history has required a careful balance between ...
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