What do you think is the future of AI?

Honestly, I suspect nobody truly knows—certainly not the so-called experts. When I hear someone introduced as an expert, my skepticism kicks in immediately. The most useful definition I’ve encountered came from junior college: “Someone who knows a whole lot about very little.”

Consider this: generalists, not narrow specialists, are most capable of predicting AI’s trajectory. So many variables influence the outcome in so many different ways that you’d need someone with broad, interdisciplinary knowledge to make an informed prediction.

However, that’s not enough. Self-centered people will exploit AI for selfish purposes. Given the chance, people will use it for harmful reasons. The key is identifying those bad actors while someone can still stop them.

I believe the trick very simply is to spot those who will make a big deal out of it being something for the good of mankind. My own personal experience tells me so. I have seen broad pictures of all the good that computers will do for mankind, and I see the broad selfish uses that they are used for. The people they really help are the management—those who use and abuse the power the computers provide them. While it is nice to have a UNIVAC in my pocket in the form of a phone, it is those who have the power that can abuse it. And most of us quickly and willingly accept it.

I believe it will be the way of artificial intelligence. The bottom line trick is to remember to keep AI our servant, not our master. My fear is that it will be accepted as a servant while all the time becoming the master.