Apr. 2, 2024

A Preface on Gen AI Design

When I first started tinkering with AI, I had no idea it would become an obsession. But as I've dug deeper into the field, working alongside engineers and researchers, I've realized that this technology isn't just another passing fad—it's a force that's going to completely upend how we create, think, and share ideas. For journalists, creators, academics, and anyone who traffics in knowledge, AI won't just change how we work; it'll reshape the very nature of what we consider work.

But here's the thing: as much as I'm excited about the possibilities, I'm also keenly aware of the pitfalls—not least of which is the post-truth, synth-flooded internet we're quickly arriving at today. We're playing with some seriously powerful tools here, and if we're not careful, things could go sideways fast. I'm talking about issues of trust, transparency, privacy, liability, bias, intellectual property, geopolitical stability, and a burst of new questions around human consciousness—the kinds of thorny issues that keep philosophers up at night.

For me, charging headlong into the AI revolution, I want to make sure we're building safeguards and thinking hard about the human impact. It's not enough to just build cool stuff; we have a responsibility to do it thoughtfully and with integrity. Call me old-fashioned, but I think the endgame here cannot be about machines replacing humans. It cannot be about LLMs writing screenplays, nor some sagacious GPT-whatever that knows everything about everything—it's got to be about machines and humans working together in a chaotic, beautiful symbiosis of creativity and intelligence. It's got to be about trying to achieve all the great things that might now be possible sooner thanks to AI—advances in scientific research and sustainable materials, breakthroughs in robotics for prosthetics and accessibility, and unprecedented cultural exchange through universal language—just to name a few.

The road ahead is going to be a wild ride, but I'm stoked to be part of the crew trying to map out an ethical path forward.

- Noah