Artificial intelligence mustn’t be a deus ex machina

Branco Weiss Fellow Kelly Clancy has contributed to a collection of seven articles in Harper’s Magazine. The collection titled “The Mind of Others – the art of persuasion in the age of Trump” looks at how one can change other people’s minds and how one’s own mind can be changed from different angles.

Dr. Kelly Clancy’s contribution is titled “Deus ex Machina” and centers on the promises, or rather, the dangers of artificial intelligence: “The greatest danger is not our ability to engineer a perfect intelligence but rather our belief in such a promise.” It is important, she concludes, that we understand who is trying to convince us, and of what. Therefore, we should know who is building the AI programs and we should demand transparency from the algorithms used.

Read it on the Harper’s Magazine website