Steering a Middle Path on AI
In a tech environment often focused on moving faster and making more money, AI pioneer Mustafa Suleyman has managed to be thoughtful, cautious, and prosperous. After selling his AI startup DeepMind to Google back in 2014 for about a half-billion dollars (depending on what report you read), he went on to found Inflection AI, a creator of personal assistant software which scored $1.3 billion in funding last year.
But amidst all that excitement, Suleyman somehow found time to write a book, The Coming Wave, which spins a philosophical discourse on the impact of AI on society. “In many cases, our key institutions are already malfunctioning, and this next change will be hugely disruptive,” he tells Worth. But despite the dangers, Suleyman’s overall tone is hopeful, as he recounts how the world rose to tackle other great challenges, such as reining in chemical weapons. Suleyman is one of several thoughtful AI entrepreneurs honored in the Worthy 100, along with tech pioneers such as Daniela and Dario Amodei (whose company, Anthropic, is also attracting major investment).
One danger of AI is its tendency to learn biases—including racial biases—from the flawed lessons of humanity. Many AI reformers advocate creating more diversity in the cadre of developers in order to combat these tendencies. That’s a key goal of CodeHouse, which aims to advance underrepresented youth across the STEM landscape through mentoring and partnering with tech firms to provide job opportunities. Cofounders Ernest and Jaycee Holmes and Tavis Thompson also share spots on the Worthy 100 for this work.
Young people of all backgrounds are underrepresented in environmental policy, according to a lawsuit filed on behalf of 18 young Californians against the EPA. It asserts that the agency has failed to protect children from environmental harms and has discounted the economic value of their lives and futures.
The California case is just one in what is becoming a long line of youth climate lawsuits. Coupled with suits and investigations challenging the major Silicon Valley powerhouses, the tech and science worlds will be facing a raft of major battles in this new year.
?—Sean Captain, executive editor
DeepMind and Inflection founder discusses the transformative power of AI and its societal implications in his book, The Coming Wave.
Ernest Holmes, Jaycee Holmes, and Tavis Thompson founded CodeHouse to help connect students of color with opportunities in the tech world.
Eighteen California young people say the EPA fails to recognize the unique physical and mental impacts that climate change has on kids.
Satellites and aircraft will help oil-and-gas watchdogs find and report large leaks of the other main greenhouse gas.
领英推荐
This year’s list highlights the voices and choices of those using their talent, wealth, and influence to generate positive impacts.?
Once again, we celebrate women who push our society toward new levels of progress. Submit your suggestions by January 12.
Worth Media Group returns to Davos to host a series of conversations on the impact of AI on business and society. (Learn more or register.)
Techonomy 23 Highlights
All sessions of our recent conference on “The Promise and Peril of AI” are available to watch for free. Here’s a sampling:
What we’re reading
Digiday answers key questions about Google's confusing, uncertain phase out of browser cookies that begins today. (You have to accept cookies to read it.)
Reuters reports how eco-focused tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes of Atlassian is pouring money into reforming polluting companies.
Axios describes how generative AI can wreak havoc on the 2024 election, and how unprepared tech companies are for the challenges.