Here are some darkly satirical snippets of discourse about AI, though these days the distinction between reality and satire has almost completely dissolved.
Tech Companies: Our AI is so powerful and dangerous that it might cause catastrophic harm, including the destruction of humanity. We should be regulated.
Tech Companies (a few months later): Our AI is even more powerful. But regulation? We don’t need regulation. Who said we need regulation?
AI Evangelists (roughly 55 years ago): We’re just a few years away from singularity.
AI Evangelists (roughly 50 years ago): False alarm. AI winter time.
AI Evangelists (roughly 40 years ago): We’re just a few years away from singularity.
AI Evangelists (roughly 35 years ago): False alarm. AI winter time.
AI Evangelists (roughly 20 years ago): We’re just a few years away from singularity.
AI Evangelists (roughly 10 years ago): We’re just a few years away from singularity.
AI Evangelists (roughly 5 years ago): We’re just a few years away from singularity.
AI Evangelists (roughly 1 year ago): We’re just a few years away from singularity.
Tech Leaders: AI will destroy humanity.
People: Yikes!
Tech Leaders: Hooray!
Tech Leaders: Soon, robots will take over everything.
People: Yikes! How do we stop it?
Tech Leaders: Stop it? The solution is for us to become robots.
Tech Companies: Our AI is out of control. It’s ridiculously dangerous.
Politicians: Should we do something?
Tech Companies: Nah.
People: We don’t want AI to take our jobs or harm us or manipulate us. We really don’t like what tech companies are creating.
Politicians: We hear you. How can we help tech companies keep innovating?
Tech Companies: AI will kill us all.
People: Yikes!
Tech Companies: Faster!
Venture Capital Firms: You’re not moving fast enough. Here’s more money.
Tech Companies: Here’s AI, a new product. Play around it with it and have fun!
People: What’s it for?
Tech Companies: You figure it out. Use it however you want—as long as you use it a lot.
Person 1: I need a lawyer, doctor, therapist . . .
Tech Companies: We’re not lawyers, doctors, or therapists, so we’re not allowed to help you because we don’t have a license. But we can botwash it—we’ll build a chatbot to do these things, and then we don’t need a license. The bot can do anything, and no matter what happens, it’s fine. If something goes wrong, we just blame it on the bot.
Daniel J. Solove is the Bernard Professor of IP and Technology Law at the George Washington University Law School. He is the author of 10+ books and 100+ articles. Follow his writings, training, cartoons, and resources by subscribing to his free weekly newsletter.
Your early statement was notable:
"...the distinction between reality and satire has almost completely dissolved."
But satire is supposed to have an element of humor...and in the reality of things there are some elements of AI that are barren of any humour.
Wait...
...Was ChatGPT the only prior "commenter" here ??!!
That in and of itself, if true, is rather scary !
And the very content is written with a logic that would confound any tautologist.
The regulation reversal is sharpest fear as marketing, withdrawn when it threatens the roadmap. Botwash is the key coinage, liability routed around by putting a chatbot in front.