It’s alive! It's alive!

When you hear "Frankenstein," do you envision the scary, green-skinned monster of movies, TV shows and Halloween costumes, or do you think about the book that raised questions about what it means to be human and the dangers of ambition and obsession? Your mind went straight to the big green guy, right??

Indulge the college English major in me as I use Mary Shelley’s classic novel as a way to describe the current environment of AI.?

• Frankenstein: a scientist (Dr. Frankenstein) creates a living being from assembled body parts. He’s initially benevolent, but rejection by society turns him into a vengeful monster.??
• AI: machine learning enables the creation of new content (i.e., images, text, audio) by a computer. It has the incredible power to do good, but also the potential for harm if not used and nurtured with noble intention.?

The story of Dr. Frankenstein’s monster raises age-old philosophical questions about what it means to be human, the power of science and technology, plus its interplay with the moral responsibility of individuals and society. Deep stuff, right? Those questions are front and center once again with the recent explosion of generative AI. As it was in 1818 when Shelley’s book was published, the green monster is a cautionary tale about unintended consequences of advancing science – and the themes of responsibility and accountability.??

The bolt-necked monster’s behavior was a reaction to the treatment he received from humans. He didn’t start out as a bad guy but came to reflect the base instincts of the humans around him.?

See where I’m going here??

We’re hearing a lot about the potential challenges AI can create. As always, negative news gets the clicks. But there is a fantastic opportunity to lean into the message of optimism and focus on the potential advantages versus the hyped dangers.??

I’ll go back to Literature for $400, Alex.??

• This 1913 children’s book features a main character who always finds something to be glad about and tries to teach those around her to have a similarly positive outlook.??
• What is Pollyanna??

Pollyanna, while originally intended as a feel-good children’s story, did contain deeper themes and messages for readers young and old. At its core, it is about the power of positive thinking. The term has evolved over time to refer to an excessive and unrealistic optimism. “Pollyanna thinking” isn’t generally used as a compliment.?

Current AI actually requires that we don’t apply Pollyanna thinking, but that we ensure there are guardrails in place to protect IP; that we don’t succumb to cognitive bias to minimize potential harm (or see only positive outcomes); that we acknowledge and address challenges.??

Those who develop and/or use generative AI have a responsibility to ensure that it does not cause harm. But I think the wrong reaction right now is a self-imposed industry moratorium on the development of these foundational large language models (LLM).?

There are lots of people worried about an AI Frankenstein – a scenario where we inadvertently create a type of artificial general intelligence that rivals or even outpaces human cognition. I’ll say it again here: given how little we know about human cognition and the inner workings of our brains, we are nowhere near that happening. In fact, AI may never reach such a sophisticated state of intelligence.?

We need to strike a balance between positivity and realism. As I’ve said before, it’s important to understand the history of AI, to try it out for yourself – and to avoid the hype.?

Responsible and ethical use of AI will be crucial to maximize its power for good, including faster and more accurate disease diagnosis; wildlife conservation; personalized learning; safer vehicles; fraud detection; earlier warnings of natural disasters; technologies to aid people with disabilities … and much more.?

There is always the risk that AI may generate content that is offensive or harmful. But it’s not inherently dangerous or unethical – that comes from the way in which we use it.??

We are now facing our “Frankenstein moment” with the limits of technological progress and its potential dangers. But we also have a front-row seat to some of the most substantial advances in the last century.?

As they say, live your life in such a way that you’ll NEVER have to declare Dr. Frankenstein’s most famous line: "I have created a monster!"??