You’ve just taken an AI/ML class. You might get asked: where is AI going? And is it good or bad? Now that you’ve engaged with the details of how some AI systems work, you’re much more qualified than average to answer those questions. But even experts disagree about those questions.
Some people are impressed by AI developments (we’ll call them “fans”). Others are skeptical (we’ll call them “skeptics”). Some people are optimistic about how AI will improve society (“optimists”). Others are worried, to the point of worrying about the future of humanity (“pessimists” or perhaps “concerned”). Many thoughtful people hold several of these views at once.
To be wise, we should consider various points of view: fans and skeptics, optimists and concerned.
Instructions
Read two articles with different perspectives. Read with hospitality: you’ll need to be able to articulate the other side’s point of view.
- For your first article:
- Provide a well-formatted link (that indicates the source without having to click it).
- State the overall stance in a keyword or two, e.g.,
[skeptical, optimistic]
or[fan, concerned]
- Summarize your first article in a few sentences. Make your summary convince someone who holds a different view to at least open the article and read it. (Yeah, you can use ChatGPT, but give it some guidance and edit its response.)
- Repeat for your second article.
- Articulate your own nuanced position, drawing on both articles. What stance should we take?
- You are highly encouraged, but not required, to draw on what you have learned about Reformed Christian perspectives on technology in this and other classes. Examples:
- Creation (unfolding latent potential possibilities, the Image of God, work as good)
- the Fall (and its effect on relationships, work, and technology), idolatry, Mammon, etc.
- Redemption and Restoration (Jesus reconciling everything), shalom (right relationships, flourishing, peace, rest, justice)
- You are highly encouraged, but not required, to draw on what you have learned about Reformed Christian perspectives on technology in this and other classes. Examples:
Responses
Read a few of your classmates’ responses to learn about their articles and positions. Respond to at least one of them.
Rubric
- Two articles are provided, each with a well-formatted link and a keyword indicating the overall stance.
- The first article is summarized compellingly, accurately, and briefly.
- The second article is summarized compellingly, accurately, and briefly.
- The student’s nuanced position is articulated clearly and thoughtfully.
- The student’s position demonstrates critical thinking by drawing substantively on both articles (beyond “I agree”) and, if applicable, on Reformed Christian perspectives on technology.
- The student’s response to a classmate’s post is thoughtful and engaging.
- The student’s writing is clear, concise, and free of grammatical errors.
Ideas for Sources
I won’t try to list every possible source here, especially because there are new ones all the time. Instead, here are some ideas of kinds of articles to look for (with a few examples if you’re lazy).
- Announcements of new AI capabilities
- e.g., from tech companies (whether big ones like Meta, Google, OpenAI, or smaller ones like DataBricks, Anthropic, Mistral, etc.)
- Academic from AI researchers (look at an aggregator like PapersWithCode)
- Techie YouTube channels, like Two Minute Papers
- or papers like Sparks of Artificial General Intelligence: Early experiments with GPT-4 | Abstract or The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence (note: this is a rabbit hole, especially if you go on to part 2)
- People who think that AI will benefit everyone
- Articles about the economic impacts of AI
- e.g., from financial institutions, like JP Morgan’s “Eye on the Market”
- one of many other examples: GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models | Abstract
- Articles about the societal impact of AI
- from journalists (note that Calvin has a site license to the New York Times)
- from institutions like the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard, AI Now Institute at NYU, AlgorithmWatch, Center for Humane Technology, etc.
- Articles from people who have been publicly skeptical of current claims of AI progress:
- Gary Marcus
- AI Snake Oil
- two people named M. Mitchell
- Emily Bender
- others, misc