Optimism and Pessimism #152

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is giving me pause. And confusion. I’ve listened to podcasts and read articles and it’s a mixed bag. T here are some who believe it will the thing that saves mankind. Others think the exact opposite. One scenario had the human species lasting for another four years. So, what should I believe?

I think this can be connected to AI. Another view of the optimist versus pessimist is the glass half full or empty thing. Supposedly, the optimist sees the glass as half full and the pessimist sees it as half empty. Seems like a dumb way of making that kind of determination.  

But there is another way to answer the age-old “half full or half empty” conundrum. It is about intent. If you’re pouring water into the glass and stop, most would say it is “half-full” because the intent is to fill the glass. If you’re drinking from it and stop at that point, the intent is to empty it and therefore most would say it is half-empty. 

I think that with AI, we have to look at intent. The billionaire class that only wants to maximize profits makes me think their intent is less than pure. If the intent is to utilize AI to cure diseases and eradicate poverty and other ills, I feel differently.

James B. Cabell said, “ An optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds and a pessimist fears that it is.”

With AI, I will withhold judgment until I can understand the intent and then can declare if the AI glass is half full or half empty.