"Whatever Trump is going for at the moment, comprehensive, humane AI regulation is never going to come out of this administration. Why aren’t more politicians with a documented shred of conscience owning this issue?"
For Trump's part, he's already announced that he doesn't care about the human condition, of which AI is to become a part. In reality, without regulation, it's a veritable Pandora's Box. Politicians have a bad habit of shutting the barn door after the horse has escaped. They don't keep up, and their influence is from those who wield the money. This tends to minimize thier thinking on effects to humanity. Like the internet before it, there can be benefits. There can also be liabilities as the pope and this article point out.
No one has ever been able to explain to me how AI will aid humanity. It seems to me it helps capitalism through targeted marketing, an economic system proving to be problematic to the everyman; it helps authoritarian governments control the population; and is apparently lucrative for the billionaires who are marketing it. The other 99% of us will be hurt no matter what. So why are we pursuing it?
It seems that we are getting a lot of "developments" just because it can be done. AI is the latest. We don't need computers in our laundry equipment nor in our refrigerators or cars, but we've got them. There are some benefits, true, but they also add expense of repair and cater to increased planned obsolescence, for which we will also pay.
I totally agree. Using computers for dishwashers and washing machines drives me crazy. Computers have never done that well in wet environments. It seems obvious to me, but then I've only used them regularly for over 60 years. I have tried to purchase models without, but this time, moving into a new home, the simple mechanical models were no longer available. Planned obsolescence is the business plan.
Glad you brought up the 'favorable living environment' for computers issue. Vehicles are far the worst. Fluctuating temperature extremes - check. Fluctuating humidity - check. Vibration and dirt - check. Variations in clean voltage supply - check, and then there is the threat of hacking the software, which is in all computer-dependent equipment.
Thank you so much for shouting this out with authentic clarity. Today's media by and large is unable to "hear" the Pope's message. I'm a composer. I want to control my pencil on the paper. I don't want my pencil to control me. As my pencil increasingly becomes a computer, AND I enjoy the amplified power that the computer gives me, I find myself in continual tug-of-war to maintain control instead of "going the way it wants me to," which inevitably tends towards the mundane. Most of us are using some form of ai today and experience this conflict directly. "Letting it do what it wants" often leads to preposterous disaster, whether just seeking information or life-saving medical advice. Any responsible agency wouldn't question the need for strict boundaries. Alas, the Republican Party is now a Fascist engine with a deep desire only to accelerate destruction (Project 2025), so ai seems its most powerful tool. The Pope points out that we humans are all in danger of becoming the "tool."
There is an alarming lack of scruples and ethics in American capitalism. We shouldn't tolerate it, but since our elected representatives these days are mostly bought by the corporations (thanks, Roberts Court) we are fighting from a weak position.
I agree with Pope Leo that AI needs to be carefully and fully regulated. Technology must be our servant, a tool to improve our lives, not our master. Unfortunately, the techbros are so busy dreaming of a utopian world where they and their machines are the masters. Trump and his minions are just looking for an opportunity to grift and enrich themselves at our expense. We cannot let that happen, and we can't count on the Federal government to stand up and do the job we elected them to do. Either we act, or we will surrender our civilization to the latest tech fad.
My husband is one of the "Friends of Bob", who lived and studied with him for 4 years. He would say that Leo is one of the smartest humans he has ever known, and Leo proves it every day. I am glad I've met Leo, and am so proud of the work he is doing
"Whatever Trump is going for at the moment, comprehensive, humane AI regulation is never going to come out of this administration. Why aren’t more politicians with a documented shred of conscience owning this issue?"
For Trump's part, he's already announced that he doesn't care about the human condition, of which AI is to become a part. In reality, without regulation, it's a veritable Pandora's Box. Politicians have a bad habit of shutting the barn door after the horse has escaped. They don't keep up, and their influence is from those who wield the money. This tends to minimize thier thinking on effects to humanity. Like the internet before it, there can be benefits. There can also be liabilities as the pope and this article point out.
No one has ever been able to explain to me how AI will aid humanity. It seems to me it helps capitalism through targeted marketing, an economic system proving to be problematic to the everyman; it helps authoritarian governments control the population; and is apparently lucrative for the billionaires who are marketing it. The other 99% of us will be hurt no matter what. So why are we pursuing it?
It seems that we are getting a lot of "developments" just because it can be done. AI is the latest. We don't need computers in our laundry equipment nor in our refrigerators or cars, but we've got them. There are some benefits, true, but they also add expense of repair and cater to increased planned obsolescence, for which we will also pay.
I totally agree. Using computers for dishwashers and washing machines drives me crazy. Computers have never done that well in wet environments. It seems obvious to me, but then I've only used them regularly for over 60 years. I have tried to purchase models without, but this time, moving into a new home, the simple mechanical models were no longer available. Planned obsolescence is the business plan.
Glad you brought up the 'favorable living environment' for computers issue. Vehicles are far the worst. Fluctuating temperature extremes - check. Fluctuating humidity - check. Vibration and dirt - check. Variations in clean voltage supply - check, and then there is the threat of hacking the software, which is in all computer-dependent equipment.
I just say, this is the healthiest, youngest looking pope I have ever seen. I hope he keeps contributing robustly to our world.
“ . . . would-be Silicon Valley’s deus ex machina . . . .” This description and others in this essay are spot on. Thank you for the clarity.
Excellent
Thank you so much for shouting this out with authentic clarity. Today's media by and large is unable to "hear" the Pope's message. I'm a composer. I want to control my pencil on the paper. I don't want my pencil to control me. As my pencil increasingly becomes a computer, AND I enjoy the amplified power that the computer gives me, I find myself in continual tug-of-war to maintain control instead of "going the way it wants me to," which inevitably tends towards the mundane. Most of us are using some form of ai today and experience this conflict directly. "Letting it do what it wants" often leads to preposterous disaster, whether just seeking information or life-saving medical advice. Any responsible agency wouldn't question the need for strict boundaries. Alas, the Republican Party is now a Fascist engine with a deep desire only to accelerate destruction (Project 2025), so ai seems its most powerful tool. The Pope points out that we humans are all in danger of becoming the "tool."
There is an alarming lack of scruples and ethics in American capitalism. We shouldn't tolerate it, but since our elected representatives these days are mostly bought by the corporations (thanks, Roberts Court) we are fighting from a weak position.
I agree with Pope Leo that AI needs to be carefully and fully regulated. Technology must be our servant, a tool to improve our lives, not our master. Unfortunately, the techbros are so busy dreaming of a utopian world where they and their machines are the masters. Trump and his minions are just looking for an opportunity to grift and enrich themselves at our expense. We cannot let that happen, and we can't count on the Federal government to stand up and do the job we elected them to do. Either we act, or we will surrender our civilization to the latest tech fad.
My husband is one of the "Friends of Bob", who lived and studied with him for 4 years. He would say that Leo is one of the smartest humans he has ever known, and Leo proves it every day. I am glad I've met Leo, and am so proud of the work he is doing