The Future Impact of AI

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Viral Dueling Posts About AI

AI founder of OthersideAI Matt Shumer posted a long article on X/Twitter that has many buzzing. You should be able to view the original post on X/Twitter without an account there. The link embedded on his name is his LinkedIn profile where he also shared the article. 

I first saw the post as shared in a LinkedIn group. I learned more on episode 197 of The Artificial Intelligence Show. This link takes you to the show notes which also tend to be on most podcast players. Head to roughly the 8 minute mark for this particular story. 

Shumer's article on X/Twitter has over 83 million views and growing. I learned on The Artificial Intelligence Show that this post is one of the early articles X/Twitter is now encouraging, a style of writing new for the platform, that may also be behind it's "viral" status as X/Twitter is encouraging others to write long form content now. It's also rather an alarmist style post—always good for generating clicks. 

Always More Than One Side
As should be expected, a response questioning the intent and the content behind Shumer's post came the next day from an editor on Fortune, Jeremy Kahn, who himself is an author about AI - Mastering AI: A Survival Guide to Our Superpowered Future. 

The hosts of The Artificial Intelligence Show podcast know Shumer. They often raise similar alarms and concerns on their podcast about where AI is taking us and the divide in society between those actively using AI and those completely unaware or dabbling at most. 

I also caught this article from Robert Rose on LinkedIn with yet a different take on the points Matt Shumer raised. A more in depth version of Robert's thoughts are on his Substack post. 

The Truth is Generally in the Middle
Reviewing both Shumer and Kahn's pieces, I posit while there is certainly concern to be raised about AI—concerns on a variety of fronts—the alarmist nature and counter are both a bit over the top for me. 

• We are operating in a few bubbles of perspective.
  • The heavy users of AI racing to figure it all out seeing the huge potential for general job loss in the near future. 
  • A still large majority who don't or barely use AI tools with little interest to dig into its complexities. 
  • A rather First World perspective of access to this tech with the leaders of AI companies based in the US.
  • The rest of the world with controlled availability and use of AI (UK and Australia are early to build rules about AI), let alone Third World countries who are doing their best to survive.
• Will it help or harm?
  • AI will bring innovation and expand medicine, science, and more faster than only human brain power, hopefully bringing cures and advances for all.
  • Just as there is good, there is evil. AI has just as much capability to be used for nefarious reasons at local and international levels. 
  • AI is a tool trained to be helpful and come up with a response—any response. Many call potentially false responses "hallucinations."

Get to the Point
How do these posts and concerns raised about AI impact us in the nonprofit, solopreneur, and author spaces?

• I've noted AI use often on prior blog posts for benefit to our market--here, here, and here. 
• My clients have understandable concern about AI in many cases between data and privacy concerns or simply not interested in dealing with the new tech. 
• Any time someone is "screaming" panic in the streets about anything, it's time to step back and ask questions.
• The Future Impact of AI (according to Lezlee based on significant research and education):
  • I doubt it's going away any time soon. It is helpful to many who use it. These folks will not sit by for the technology to be taken away.
  • We are making advancements in science, medicine, and technology faster due to the assistance of AI. It has its benefits. 
  • Many have no use or interest in AI at the moment and it's not all "older" folks resisting. My Gen Z daughters want nothing to do with it which is rather common for that generation. They've been scared by teachers of being accused of plagiarism and the hallucination that does exist. 
  • Job losses are happening attributed to the rise in AI capability and use, either with layoffs or lack of hiring. I anticipate a time soon where the job losses or lack will become felt enough that the public will push back on its use.
  • The rise of AI is often likened to the Industrial Revolution two centuries ago. We have no concept what that actually felt like. New and different jobs were created as many were displaced, but there was a definite "messy middle."
  • We are in no way sufficiently ready with the infrastructure needed to support AI to the level we're told "it's coming." Solutions are needed for water, electricity, and space to build data centers to meet the supposed demand. I anticipate social push back on this as well. 
  • Government involvement or regulation is likely. AI development is currently reliant on approximately six corporate founders in the US, impacting national and international markets. At some point, I suspect "for the good of humanity," use and development will become centralized. At the moment, it's the "wild west" of development and innovation in the US while other countries are beginning efforts to regulate use.

What Do You Think?
What do you see as the future impact of AI? Are you increasingly concerned about your friends and family not "getting it" about the impact AI is already having? Do you think Matt Shumer's post may have been more dramatic than needed?

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