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OK, for this week’s newsletter, we’re talking about the prevailing two visions of our AI future: Utopia vs Dystopia. On one end, we’ve got the AI Doomers who warn of existential risks and job displacement. On the other, the AI Optimists who envision a future of unprecedented abundance and human flourishing. And it seems like everyone’s picked a side.

These opposing camps have grown increasingly vocal over the past few years – especially in recent months, thanks to major technological breakthroughs and a new administration in the White House.

Yes, there are many people in the middle, and no, I’m not wanting to sensationalize things by talking about the extremes. But I believe we can learn a lot from them, so that’s what we’re gonna do.

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– Kyser

Let’s Learn Something

The AI Divide: Optimists vs. Doomers 
When it comes to AI, most people close to the technology seem to fall into two camps:

AI Optimists 
These folks believe AI will usher in an era of unprecedented human flourishing. The term was mostly made famous by Marc Andreessen in his Techno-Optimist Manifesto. Optimists see AI as the solution to humanity’s biggest challenges – from curing diseases to solving climate change. They also argue that AI will create more jobs than it eliminates and ultimately lead to abundance for all.

Some of the key people are Andreessen himself, Sam Altman of OpenAI, Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO, and really most people in tech. The current administration is in this camp, and this is important to know as we explore geopolitical topics in upcoming editions (e.g. What’s up with China and AI?).

AI Accelerationists (e/acc): This is a subset of Optimists who believe we should develop AI as quickly as possible with minimal restrictions. Their philosophy is essentially “faster is safer” – arguing that the benefits of rapid AI development far outweigh the risks, and that slowing down actually creates more danger by giving bad actors an advantage. You hear this talking point quite frequently right now.

AI Doomers 
On the flip side, Doomers warn about existential risks and the societal disruption that AI could bring. They point to massive job displacement, the potential for autonomous weapons, and ultimately, the risk of creating superintelligent systems that might act against human interests.

Notable voices here are Gary Marcus, philosopher Nick Bostrom, and even some industry insiders like Geoffrey Hinton, considered one of the “godfathers of AI,” who left Google to speak out more freely about AI risks.

AI Decelerationists (Decels): This is a subset of Doomers who specifically advocate for slowing down AI development through regulations, moratoriums, and safety standards. They believe we need more time to align AI systems with human values before pushing the technology further.

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AI in the Wild

It’s Play Time

Newcomers [AI is new to me]

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Explorers [I’m comfortable with AI]

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That wraps up another edition of AI for the Rest of Us. Before you go, I’d love to hear what you thought about this edition. Just hit reply and let me know if you’ve got feedback or thoughts on how to make AI for the Rest of Us better for you.

Until next time...