Do You Know How the Tech Behind Anything Really Works? Does It MATTER?

Witchcraft. Magic. Unholy. It’s the Devil.?

Such was the response throughout the annals of history to advances in human enablement. We call it technology today. Back then, results and outcomes couldn’t be reconciled to the process because the average person didn’t understand how it all worked.

Had people of previous centuries been exposed to radio or TV, I suppose they would have raised Holy Hell after they overcame their fear and panic. The same could probably be said for the kind of space, air, land, and sea travel we take for granted. Can you imagine the stories of monsters and dragons and such that would ensue if we could travel back in time with our “stuff”?!

The truth is, while we (most of us) have lost our deep-rooted ignorant fears, the majority of us have no real knowledge or even a clue as to the technological underpinnings of any of it beyond a rudimentary understanding that kills the anxiety. We just know it works and enjoy the output and benefits.

An example I have been using for years is early TV. Few people looked at the original big boxes with the small fuzzy screen in their neighbor’s living room and ran screaming from the room or got on their knees praying to understand where those little people came from who were talking to them or even how they got into the box in the first place.?

Advertising agencies didn’t waste time speculating.

Instead, they quickly figured out how to make the enterprise commercial, which is the bedrock of much of our economy today—on and offline.?

Congress didn’t waste time either, just like they didn’t for trains, cars, planes, and radio. The government began regulating and creating protection like on and off ramps and open markets. Yes, sometimes they regulate too much, but certainly not enough to keep things from developing, evolving, and continuing to innovate. And yes, you can argue, but KNEE JERK ALERT—that’s not the point.

In my view, the most notable exception in the last 100+ years is Digital Technology and its applications. It is the reason why...

• AMAZON is called Big Tech, not a retailer.
• Facebook is labeled Big Tech, not a media company.
• Tesla is considered Big Tech, not a car company.?

Ad agencies got stuck, and it took them years to realize this was just another evolution in human communication and progress. Sadly, some are still stuck in the DIGIBABBLE morass. .?

Bottom line…again. We need to understand what our enablement is and can be. Then, we must be innovative, creative, and power-using experts. How does it enable us? Magic! LOL.

Seriously though, you just need to know enough to ask the right questions and understand the principles.

AI is the latest entry into a scenario that is reminiscent to me of...Galileo’s trials in front of the Church’s inquisition tribunals (as an example).

Anyone watching the US Congress over the past few weeks, trying to understand what AI does, let alone how it works, will agree. (Well...at least some of you will.)

One Member of Congress said he was “freaked out” (I think that’s a professional term) by ChatGPT. As Representative Jay Obernolte, the only member of Congress with an Advanced Degree in AI, as quoted by the New York Times, said:?

“Before regulation, there needs to be agreement on what the dangers are, and that requires a deep understanding of what A.I. is,” he said. “You’d be surprised how much time I spend explaining to my colleagues that the chief dangers of A.I. will not come from evil robots with red lasers coming out of their eyes.”

That's right. Red lasers. But not really surprising as some thought (and maybe still do...) that the internet was actually a “series of tubes.” You can’t make that up.

Interestingly, European lawmakers seem to have a better understanding, and you can see it in the types of Tech regulations being contemplated and already passed.?

BTW…what’s remarkable about the lack of basic knowledge and understanding is that in the US, the federal government has been deeply involved in AI since the 1960s through DARPA—the start of all things web.

On July 15, 2008, Microsoft asked me to join Brad Smith, then Chief Legal Counsel, at a hearing called by the Congressional Committee on the Judiciary Task Force on Competition Policy and Anti-Trust Law regarding Competition on the Internet.

Microsoft was calling out a proposed merger of Google and Yahoo as a dangerous monopoly that would jeopardize open advertising.?

It was a surreal moment. As I re-watched the video and thought about this Imagine post, I was taken back to the movie-like scenario I was in. Cameras all around, a table with us in the middle facing the Congressional folks and their staff.?

WILD.

Watch it —if you want. I quickly began by praising Google as a user myself, talking about its evolution, and describing the business model and advertising issues.

But then (surprise—not to my loyal readers—LOL!) I veered, changed direction,? and said:

“Allow me to take a slightly different tack.

Search is all about the algorithm, and that is all about control. If you control the algorithm, you effectively control the information it presents…Do we really want anyone controlling the answers to everything we ask? I don’t believe that any single entity should ever yield that much power, influence, or control…It is my fear of what any company could do with that position of unbridled power that makes me oppose the proposed merger.”

I returned to and ended with a competitive point.?

I finished, and we left. But for the next few months, I was on the phone with the teams of various members of Congress because none of them had ever heard or thought about what I said and wanted to understand it.??

Funny, isn’t it??

As I look back from our perch today, I’d say they still don’t. Look at the mess we are in with spreading misinformation, fake news, and hate. And they have yet to act, and it’s getting harder to do so all the time.

Some AI companies are trying to self-regulate. Congress is exploring creating a new agency to create and oversee regulation. My view is we need smart regulation here and in the social media space that will both limit and propel AI and other technologies. In other words, a regulation that protects us while creating maximum enablement.?

Let me end by quoting myself:

"It is my fear of what any company could do with that position of unbridled power."

And there you have it.

What are your thoughts?

#MSFT and @bradsmith