10 ways to understand AI

Mark Vernon - Talks and Thoughts

AI can be understood by the many, not just the few. We don’t need to respond to technologist and media hype via fear and the call for another lockdown, this time on AI development.
I hope ten points are illuminating.
1. The Turing test has been passed, but it never was a very good test to start with.
2. The AI industry thrives on the promise of tomorrow and is often led by those confusing themselves with gods.
3. Our psychology, as well as theirs, needs considering more fully, too.
4. AI models reality, as much science does. So don’t confuse AI models with reality.
5. Human intelligence doesn’t much involve calculation but presence, not much patterning but more participation.
6. We’re adaptive. Technology is surprisingly unadaptive.
7. Attention is a moral act and how we attend deeply shapes what shows up.
8. A cybernetic future might be the one coming, with AI recognised as tool not master.
9. Our intelligence is deeply linked to striving and longing, desiring and loving.
10. Our intelligence thrives with patience and experiencing, learning from now.
For more on Mark, particularly his work on spiritual intelligence, see www.markvernon.com.