Humans and AI: Three Futures
<p>Welcome, to all the newly minted AI experts! Everyone by now has heard of <strong>ChatGPT</strong> and other <strong>generative AIs</strong>. Personally, I got into XR about thirty years ago with a dream to tell stories, perhaps even new interactive 3D stories (think: <em>Holodeck</em>) with the vital help of AI. Along the way, I worked on the procedural 3D object system for <strong>Second Life</strong> and smart cartography for the original <strong>Google Earth</strong>. But I don’t actually call myself an AI expert.</p>
<p>More so, I’ve grappled with the ethical consequences of the AI shift (<a href="https://avibarzeev.medium.com/the-database-of-every-picture-imaginable-747974977751" rel="noopener">e.g., snark from 1993)</a>. It’s both exciting and a bit scary to see AI progress this rapidly. In this article, I’ll provide more context, deflate some of the hype, as usual, and add some bigger and lesser-known trends to the pot. I’ll leave you with a view of the future and a choice you’ll likely need to make.</p>
<h2>The Past</h2>
<p>When photography was first introduced in the 1800s, our only experience of recorded imagery came from original hand-crafted media. Reactions to photography ranged from excitement to indignity and even fear that these devices were<em> stealing our souls</em>. While that seems <em>unlikely</em>, we do observe that excessive media exposure can indeed lead to human suffering (e.g., loss of privacy, teen idols, and Instagram…). We live in a world where it’s considered okay to take and share photographs of anyone without asking. So we have lost a bit of our personal power, at the very least.</p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/predict/humans-and-ai-three-futures-7928f3863ace"><strong>Learn More</strong></a></p>