AI is not a hurricane.
What if the news media stopped covering AI as if it were a weather system that no one is responsible for? What if we changed the way we spoke about AI to rightfully attribute responsibility to the owners of AI for the harm to our kids, our climate, and our relationships with each other, all the while making record profits for themselves?
Here is how 8 recent headlines would sound if we correctly attributed ownership, responsibility, and financial gain to the owners of AI. (the original headlines are hyperlinked)
Why are there concerns the owners of AI could threaten humanity?
The owners of AI debate: Could advanced models escape our control?
The owners of data centers spread hot air, pollution across cities
Energy, water use and pollution from the owners of AI rival most countries
Parents confront new fear: Could the owners of AI end humanity before my kids grow up?
Holding the real humans, who created AI, own AI, control AI, and profit from AI, accountable means:
Use the phrase ‘the owners of AI’ whenever we mention AI. It only benefits them for us all to forget who owns, manages, controls, and profits from AI.
Stop attributing benevolent characteristics to the owners of AI. The owners of AI are not trying to democratize access to anything. They are billionaire owners of the largest corporations in the entire world. They have two goals: profit and power. Period.
Call BS on the ‘left behind’ myth. The tech company owners bank on this to sell their products. They told us if our young kids didn’t have iPads, they would be left behind by others who were more tech-savvy. They told us if our kids didn’t get laptops from their schools, they wouldn’t be able to compete with tech-savvy peers in the work world; now these same tech company owners are telling us AI competency is mandatory or, yes, you guessed it, we will all be left behind. ‘Left behind’ is a fear-based marketing strategy, nothing more.
The owners of AI do not care about us.
One type of resistance is to care about each other as much, as deeply, and as skillfully as we can. Let’s:
Stop using AI in human communications. Stop supporting therapy bots, the social media ‘bot friends,’ the AI email communications, the receptionist-bot when I call the doctor. Our relationship with each other is our shared humanity. Social trust in each other was already at an all-time low before AI. We can’t afford to be any more estranged and distrustful of each other.
Commit, over and over again, to high-quality, human-to-human communication. Listening can be hard. It takes a ton of practice and intentionality. Communicating empathy isn’t easy either; it takes focus, presence, deep listening and self-forgetting; it means setting aside judgements and biases and letting go thinking we know what is best for someone else; it often feels risky, to offer empathy – we don’t know how it will be received. This kind of deep connection takes time, and sometimes that is the biggest barrier of all – to slow down, put down the phone, look our friends, family, and coworkers in the eyes, and just be with someone.
I’m not an expert in human connection, in listening, or in skilled communication; neither is our Lay Counselor Academy team. We are just practicing the best we can, everyday. If you want to join us in our human-centered, relational movement to enhance empathy and connection, reach out!
