Oprah Winfrey interviewed AI technology leaders and the public in an hour-long ABC broadcast titled AI and the Future of Us. The show was created to help the public better understand the benefits and threats of current and emerging AI.

The luminaries interviewed included Microsoft founder and ex-CEO Bill Gates, and OpenAI founder and CEO Sam Altman. Both play a central role in modern AI development, with Microsoft funding OpenAI with over $13 billion thus far. In turn, OpenAI’s line of GPT large language model AI has become the most widely used AI today, notably as ChatGPT and CoPilot chatbots.

Sam Altman

Oprah noted the huge lack of diversity among AI creators, who are primarily white males. Altman responded that the diversity issue is being addressed in the industry, but slower than ideal. Apparently, the $13 billion Microsoft has invested in OpenAI hasn’t been used to quickly diversify. Altman hoped everyone will be able to use AI to create new things. OpenAI does not release its AI for free, unlike xAI’s free Grok.

When asked what keeps him up at night, Altman gave a confusing answer about the rate of change in the world and the economy due to AI that we haven’t seen yet.

Oprah questioned how the public can trust him after his own board kicked him out. Altman pivoted from himself by noting trust can be built by releasing AI, being transparent about its capabilities, and withholding releases based on internal safety criteria. So this suggests that without public participation, the powerful will remain in broad control of AI’s future.

Bill Gates

Bill Gates stated that AI will have a bigger impact on society than the PC, Internet, or phone and praised its potential to improve health care and education while reducing the need to work. But Gates noted that society will need to find a replacement for work to maintain human dignity.

He fears AI’s rapid development and noted the use of AI in the dissemination of misinformation. Simultaneously, a video of Alex Jones of Inforwars was shown. He suggested AI companies work with the government to minimize such. Gates also highlighted the need to find a replacement for work to maintain human dignity. Interestingly, studies have shown that most AIs possess a left-leaning bias and racial biases. Therefore, minimizing viewpoints can undermine the ability to speak freely in society.

Social media stars

Oprah had Marques Brownlee, a top YouTuber on tech, demonstrate the current capabilities of AI. He showed a generative video so realistic, many would believe it is of real people. Brownlee then convincingly demonstrated how AI could speak with his cloned voice.

The public

A mom recounted receiving a call that sounded like her daughter in danger, but it was actually a thief using an AI-generated copy of her daughter’s voice to extort money. AI technology can now copy voices with a sample in as short as three seconds, and staff have been fooled into handing over millions to hackers using AI deepfakes of key employees.

The public shared how they use AI and its potential benefits, emphasizing human qualities like growth, forgetfulness, love, belief in the divine, and the pursuit of knowledge.

Tech innovators

Oprah brought Aza Raskin and Tristan Harris on stage. Both co-founded the Center for Humane Technology. Raskin described how his invention, the infinite scroll, now wastes over half a million human lifetimes monthly in addictive activities like doomscrolling on social media.

Both worry that the rapid pace of AI development hinders recognition of danger and implementation of safety measures. Tristan wants laws passed to slow AI development so that society can keep up with addressing its undesired side effects.

The FBI

FBI director Christopher Wray lamented that AI is being exploited by criminals to create unsafe images and extort teens, leading to abuse and deaths. His biggest worry is China’s hacking program, which steals data from Americans and has a staff outnumbering FBI personnel fifty to one. Additionally, countries like China and Russia are impersonating Americans on social media to influence the upcoming presidential election.

Novelist

Marilynne Robinson, a Pulitzer awarded novelist, expressed concerns that AI threatens to eliminate the human touch in creating our reality. She criticized the concentration of control, capital, and energy in the AI industry. She worries that mankind’s lack of love for its own existence creates a dangerous opening for AI, potentially leading to more harm than benefits.

Robinson believes AI should be used for tasks like drug discovery, but not essential human activities like writing essays, which strengthen one’s mind. She likens AI development to the secretive Manhattan Project, which was led by a few and opened a Pandora’s Box without public discussion.

Oprah closed by warning that everyone must pay attention to AI - its dangers, what is real or not, what is AI knowledge versus human wisdom, and who we are and our future - because the stakes are higher than ever.

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