Ever since humans began devising advanced technologies, a large subset of society has expressed a deep fear of them. Historians note that technophobia emerged in the early decades of the Industrial Revolution in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
As a young journalist in the 1970s, I covered the anti-nuke movement, which relied heavily on technophobia for its energy, and my own work about agriculture, Circle of Poison, inspired anti-technology feelings as well.
My personal opinions about nuclear energy and pesticides were not initially as universally negative as those of the activists around me. For example, having grown up among farmers, I knew how hard they had to work to grow their crops, and how much they welcomed any tool, including chemicals, that reduced that workload.
In fact, “Circle” had much more to do with the hypocrisy of sending banned pesticides to Third World countries than it did with pesticides per se.
But in the course of researching “Circle,” I came to appreciate that the traditional methods of rotating crops, natural pests and other organic farming techniques were superior because they preserved the long-term viability of soil for sustainable agriculture into the future.
By contrast, the chemical-intensive methods that relied on fertilizers and pesticides not only were polluting the soil, air, water and foods in our farmlands, they were creating resistance in pests and threatening our future ability to feed ourselves.
Accordingly, I developed a strong aversion to pesticides on ecological grounds, as opposed to a knee-jerk negative reaction based on technophobia. I came to think of it as an evidence-based opposition.
Nuclear power was a slightly different matter, but without the ability to store its wastes, it too was an ecological insult. For me, California’s Prop 15 in 1976 was the turning point, which I covered for Rolling Stone.
These days, I think about those experiences when I consider artificial intelligence. Society is once again split between those who are enthusiastic about the potential of AI (including its potential to produce profits) and those who fear it basically on principle.
I again have mixed feelings.
Almost certainly, as we get more familiar with AI, the best course will be a third way between enthusiasm and fear— embracing it but subjecting it to careful regulation like with pesticides and nuclear power, albeit in both cases imperfectly. There will be mistakes along the way with AI, like with nukes and pesticides, so let’s just hope this time they once again don’t prove fatal.
LINKS:
AI could replace 80% of jobs 'in next few years': expert (AFP)
Congressman George Santos Charged with Fraud, Money Laundering, Theft of Public Funds, and False Statements (DoJ)
Wendy’s Turns to AI-Powered Chatbots for Drive-Thru Orders (Bloomberg)
How To Delete Your Data From ChatGPT (Wired)
We Need a Manhattan Project for AI Safety (Politico Mag)
OpenAI ranks as No. 1 on Disruptor 50 list with $30 billion valuation and 200 million users (CNBC)
AI machines aren’t ‘hallucinating’. But their makers are (Guardian)
Should We Be Worried About AI? I Thought Not, Until I Asked An AI (Forbes)
What if AI could rebuild the middle class? (NPR)
Machine learning method illuminates fundamental aspects of evolution (Phys.org)
The metaverse is no more (BoingBoing)
Donald Trump Loses Defamation, Sexual Battery Lawsuit Brought by E. Jean Carroll, Jury Awards $5 Million (Yahoo)
Biden, GOP Lawmakers Not Budging as Debt-Ceiling Meeting Convenes (WSJ)
Deal or default? Biden, GOP must decide what's on the table (AP)
Elizabeth Holmes and her partner spent 6 months on the road in an RV sleeping in Walmart parking lots while working on her legal defense (Insider)
New York Times to Get Around $100 Million From Google Over Three Years (WSJ)
Under the Radar, Right-Wing Push to Tighten Voting Laws Persists (NYT)
Trump prohibited from posting evidence in hush money case to social media, judge rules (NBC)
Fetterman ‘begging’ those struggling with mental health to seek treatment (The Hill)
Students can’t get off their phones. Schools have had enough. (WP)
Imran Khan, Pakistan's former prime minister, is arrested in Islamabad (NPR)
Three Islamic Jihad commanders and family members among multiple dead in Israeli strikes on Gaza (CNN)
“If we want to help the people of Afghanistan, the Taliban is a reality that has be dealt with”—how they lead (Economist)
Taliban Diplomat Defends Policies, Insists Afghan Women Education Ban Not 'Permanent' (VoA)
Vladimir Putin said a "real war" was again being waged against Russia, as Ukraine's envoy to Japan asked leaders of the Group of Seven rich nations to condemn any threat to use nuclear weapons and vow "decisive action" against such a move. (Reuters)
Women should get screening mammograms at age 40, health panel says (WP)
Six books that tell the history of money — What to read to understand the roots of money (Economist)
A 7,000-year-old road is found on the seafloor off Croatian coast, researchers say (Miami Herald)
An archaeologist saw shapes in the water. They led to a submerged grave. (WP)
Frisky Housewife Lets Revealing Robe Slip After Opening Door To Amazon Delivery Drone (The Onion)
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