Snippet: The AI Future Is Not Really for Everyone ☇
Mark Zuckerberg for The Wall Street Journal (via John Gruber): It is surprising that the discourse from many of those who are developing artificial intelligence is so filled with doom. I don’t understand why anyone who believes that AI will eliminate most jobs and much of humanity’s relevance would rush to build that future. The notion that AI is so dangerous that the only safe path is an extreme concentration of power seems dangerous. Historically, hoping that an absolute power will benevolently provide for humanity if sufficiently enlightened hasn’t led to safe or positive outcomes. […]
Putting power in people’s hands to pursue their own aspirations is how humanity has made the most progress. Novel ideas and major steps forward rarely originate from established institutions alone. They came from the brothers in a bicycle shop who believed people could fly, the bookbinder’s apprentice with no schooling who figured out how to generate electricity, and the kid in a garage who thought personal computers could be for everyone. We believe this will continue to be true. As everyone gains more powerful tools, each person will become more capable of shaping the future, not less. […]
Rather than centralizing this power, we believe that delivering personal superintelligence to everyone is the way to answer this question. This has the potential to begin a new era of personal empowerment, in which individuals have greater freedom to pursue their interests and reach their full potential.
This is rich coming from the guy whose company has basically stifled as much of the Internet as it can due to its size and ubiquity. Facebook Meta has bought (or tried to buy) competitors and lobbied to get others out of the picture. It has all but monopolized the local classifieds, and has become the only place for a lot of discussions that isn’t Reddit. If you don’t have an account, there’s a lot you’re missing out on, since a lot is now behind a login wall, too. Let’s never ever forget that it is also the platform that empowered a lot of toxic discourse and falsehoods, too.
That aside, it’s really easy for the #6 richest guy to be downplaying employment fears caused by AI when [our K-shaped economy is getting worse] and making existing more of a struggle. Plenty of people want to pursue their own aspirations, but can’t because they have to work multiple jobs. Adding an AI subscription won’t magically fix that. There’s also the aspect of surveillance, exploitations, and general disregard for arts, knowledge, skills, and the environment. Therefore, I’m not interested in the nonsense this manifesto advertorial opinion piece is pushing.