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The Future of AI: A Conversation on Governance and Control

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Lidia Zur Muhlen As technology journalist Karen Hao discussed her latest book, "Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI," at the University's Digital Technology for Democracy Lab, she posed a critical question: what are the long-term implications of the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence? Hao's book, which explores the corporate entities behind AI, particularly OpenAI, highlights the urgent need for governance and control over AI's development. The evening discussion, moderated by incoming Media Studies Prof. Seth C. Lewis and Mona Sloane, co-lead of the University's Digital Technology for Democracy Lab, shed light on the importance of considering AI's impact on humanity.

Key Takeaways:

  • Hao emphasizes the need for governance and control over AI's development, arguing that policymakers can implement strong data privacy and transparency rules to return people's agency over their data and work.
  • Silicon Valley's tech giants, including OpenAI, are trying to sell the world an "everything machine," exaggerating the capabilities of AI, such as solving cancer and climate change.
  • Hao refers to the "boomers" and "doomers" in Silicon Valley, who believe in the positive and negative transformations brought by AI, respectively, distracting from the actual plot and consolidating power in the hands of a few people.
  • The recent study "Canaries in the Coal Mine?" found that employment has fallen by 13% for workers aged 22-25 in AI-exposed jobs since late 2022.
  • Hao and Lewis discuss the importance of considering AI's impact on human labor, with Lewis suggesting that in the future, one AI agent will supervise 50 humans, rather than the other way around.
  • Students, such as Celia Calhoun and Owen Kitzmann, who attended the talk, emphasized the need for students' voices to be part of the conversation around AI governance and development.
  • Calhoun and Kitzmann's Student Technology Council Project aims to build a governing body with student input to secure data and ensure policies reflect student values.
  • Chandra, a second-year College student, takes away the idea that individuals have the power to reframe how they think about AI, and that people like Sam Altman can be countered by collective action and awareness.

Statistics:

  • 13%: Employment has fallen by 13% for workers aged 22-25 in AI-exposed jobs since late 2022 (Stanford's "Canaries in the Coal Mine?" study).
  • $10 trillion: The cost of building 250 gigawatts of data centers by 2033, as proposed by Sam Altman (Hao's book).
  • 50: The equivalent number of New York Cities that would be powered by the proposed data centers (Hao's book).
  • 5 years: The number of years it would take to build the proposed data centers, according to Hao's book.

Sources:

  • Hao, Karen. "Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI" (book).
  • "Canaries in the Coal Mine?" (Stanford study).
  • Lewis, Seth C. and Mona Sloane. Moderators, University's Digital Technology for Democracy Lab.

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