Here’s the latest example. It’s the people, stupid. If you must anthropomorphize the AI, then consider it the useful idiot. It does not plot. It does not deceive.

The problem is us, with our Paleolithic vulnerabilities, our FOMO, our susceptibility to snake oil salesmen and the ELIZA effect. Say no to anthropomorphized tech solutionism and yes to stronger human institutions, fortified by ordinary technology. (11/11)

AI-based tools — even terribly unsophisticated ones — have dramatically lowered the barrier of entry for bad actors to do harm. (10/11)

The fundamental problems remain. Bad software leads to bad outcomes. Phishing, grifting, misinformation, scams, and other con jobs threaten us from all sides, like nitrogen runoff encroaching upon a lake. (9/11)

If we, as a society, hand the keys to agentic software, and erode the classic lines of defense that humans have built up for decades in cybersecurity and institutional best practices, then we deserve whatever sad apocalypse ensues. (8/11)

As Anders Søgaard noted, Animal Behavior researchers have wrestled with the anthropomorphism challenge, and so should we. (7/11)

(2) “AI minus Bullshit equals Ordinary Technology.” We need to stop using anthropomorphic terms when we talk about AI. Yes, AI researchers themselves started it, going back decades, but times change, and we need to correct course. (6/11)

With that foundation in place, the use of AI as a tool in capable human hands could lead to abundance in various sectors, thereby building up defenses against some of our less desirable Stone Age impulses. (5/11)

On the bright side, I think there is a lot we can do in the second category: we can build better institutions. We can build them upon a foundation of trust, safety, and functioning democracy. (4/11)

What can we do about this? With regard to the first one, I would say: not much. For the last one, as scientists, we can do our best to demystify technology — while preserving a sense of awe and wonder — but the forces against this appear insurmountable. (3/11)

(1) E. O. Wilson once remarked that “the real problem of humanity is the following: we have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology.” (2/11)

Link to application portal: