The consequences of AI’s spectacular advances are infiltrating critical aspects of society.
The pressing question we face today is the profound impact that these intelligent entities, despite their current limited intelligence, have and will have on human existence.
As AI systems, particularly Gen AI, become more widespread and thus influential, it is increasingly vital to develop an acuity for the underlying transformations they initiate and portend for the future.
Our primary concern is with the foundational pillars of a society.
It may concern the justice system, education, the economy or health.
Through relentless precision in the intimate prediction of what is delicately called personalization, algorithms set the editorial line of the content feed of many lives, reinforcing certain ways of thinking, certain cultural stereotypes, creating a bubble, each one’s own and yet paradoxically the same for everyone, since it is crafted by the care of a single editor-in-chief: the machine.
The advent of AI marks the dawn of a new form of cooperation; a cooperation that introduces complex dimensions that we will have to increasingly apprehend in our daily lives ; that with intelligent machines.
First, there is the cooperation equation “Human OR Machine”.
This dimension involves establishing economic, ethical, and social norms that will help determine which tasks must and should continue to be imperatively performed by humans and which can and may be entrusted to machines. Finding the right balance is essential to guarantee the protection of human rights and lay the foundations for effective regulation of AI.
Moreover, we are faced with the cooperation equation “Human AND Machine”.
This dimension explores the changes we are willing to accept in society to unleash the full potential of AI and increase our human capabilities. Accepting the challenge of combining human and machine capabilities, without compromising the very essence of what makes our humanity, certainly presents economic opportunities but is also the spring of anthropological and civilizational evolutions, therefore those that will shape our future.
Furthermore, we must take into account the cooperation equation “Human AND Machine” versus the intrinsic “Human to Human” cooperation equation itself.
Bridging the gap between those who can access AI and use it effectively and those who cannot is crucial. The emergence of an algorithmic divide can lead to new forms of inequality. Addressing this dimension of the new competitive landscape in the AI era becomes an imperative for sovereignty, security, equal opportunities, and development.
Finally, we are faced with, and will be even more so, the cooperation equation “Machine-to-Machine”.
This calls for our responsibility to define the limits and boundaries we wish to set for advanced interactions between machines. It raises profound questions about the potential emergence of a new form of life, not organic but algorithmic, at the heart of our societies.
As such, and contrary to comparison narratives, AI is not equivalent to the internet, electricity, the car, the telephone, the printing press, the discovery of fire, or any other innovation, invention, ability to control, understand, or harness that humankind has brought to this earth.
It’s about the inclusion of a new form of intelligence in the world; an intelligence that radically changes the known potential of many pre-existing human advancements by allowing them, in addition to their function, to imitate human intelligence.
This foreshadows achievements that were previously unimaginable, potentially reshaping our approach to problem-solving and expanding the boundaries of what is humanly and algorithmically possible while accelerating the inventions and discoveries of those yet to come.
Let’s not think that regulating the world considering the inclusion of this new form of intelligence simply consists of putting safeguards on what we identify as high-risk AI.
It does not simply call for a need for new laws.
It is a call for innovation of a different kind. One that involves society for centuries.
One that requires revising the supreme legal document of countries.
One that revises the declaration of human rights.
One that establishes the fundamental principles by which each country governs itself, shedding light on the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens in light of the profound impact that artificial intelligence has on them, for example:
The right to data protection, particularly regarding the collection, processing, and use of data by AI systems.
The right to algorithmic fairness, as ensuring that AI does not perpetuate existing discriminations based on race, gender, social class, is essential.
The right to explainability and transparency so that every citizen has the right to understand how and why a decision was made by an AI system, especially when that decision has a significant impact on their life.
The right to recourse against AI-based decisions, because every citizen should have the right to challenge and request a human review of decisions made entirely or partially by AI systems.
The right to self-determination in the face of Automation to provide a shield against excessive automation or, put another way, extreme personalization, which can negatively affect personal autonomy and life choices.
The right to education and ongoing training, because in response to the rapid evolution of skills required in an economy influenced by AI, access to education and continuous training is fundamental.
The right to security against AI abuses to protect against disinformation, manipulation, and breaches of personal and national security.
Musk once said: “artificial intelligence doesn’t have to be evil to destroy humanity. If AI has a goal and humanity just happens to be in the way, it will destroy humanity as a matter of course without even thinking about it”.
AI is not goal-seeking on its own; human goals are what propel AI forward.
Therefore, the value we place on human life today will shape the society in which we will live with AI tomorrow.
