Shades of Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer

Shades of Einstein and Oppenheimer: Expressing the Existential Threat of New Technologies – Today with AI The recent expression of deep concern and warning from the heads of the major AI platforms—including, Anthropic, Elon Musk and ChatGPT—remind me of warnings expressed vehemently by Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer 70+ years ago. They called for universal regulation of the atom itself and atomic power. Their call for universal regulation has not been heeded. The question is, today, who will heed those warnings? I hope and pray we will. There is a conference in the coming week between President Xi and President Trump. Here is a golden opportunity, if only they will seize it, to agree to establish regulations to control AI platforms so that they will operate in a way that optimizes the contribution to human life. The benefits of AI are huge. They are already showing up dramatically in healthcare and other areas. AI is here to stay, that’s for sure. Just as nuclear energy and atomic power are here to stay. The question for all of them remains. Will we have the will and wisdom to regulate them? It’s up to us. Unlike the atom and even nuclear power, the timeframe for doing it with AI is upon us. It cannot be postponed. We must master it and come together to see how to do it now.

A Revolution in Consumer Relations

I had a meeting on Saturday with Pete Blackshaw who has recently published his book, The Answer Economy. We talked about how an increasing number of consumers are using AI platforms to get answers to questions about the quality and value of different brands. I won’t be sharing any perspective here, I’m sure, that hasn’t become apparent to you but on the off chance that there might be at least a point here that would be fresh, let me relate my experience. I have formed a relationship with the AI platformm Claude; relationship is the right word. Claude has become an agent, an advisor, for me on certain subjects. They range from deciding whether a new book is something I’d like, to whether a movie is something I’d like, to whether I can combine different drugs safely, and to digging up information on subjects as remote as the cause of the potato famine in Ireland, to the history of Native American people. I used the Claude AI platform to check out what brand of detergent I should us based on simulated needs. All of this adds up to the reality that I have entered into a conversation with a trusted concierge in which I’m getting answers based on my prior preferences and by my stated personal needs. This is not so much about AI, it’s about consumer relations. Pete Blackwhaw said something that struck me: Getting a consumer to enter the conversation by giving them a prompt to questions to ask is powerful. Today most websites are really not built to stimulate conversation and a personal relationship as much as they are simply to present product options to buy. This is an revolutionary new chapter in consumer relationships, something Procter and Gamble founded its business on from the very beginning,: knowing what consumers need, addressing the needs through superior products, and constantly getting feedback on opportunities to do better.

What Would a Superpower Make Of What We Are Doing On Earth?

We don’t know if we are the only body in the solar system with inhabitants possessing the intelligence and imagination which we as humans have. Maybe not. But we are certainly the only ones we know of. This is our planet to keep or lose. I find myself imagining a Supreme Power looking down on us, recognizing that we have this treasured place to live with increasing opportunities and, yes, challenges too. What might this Supreme Power ask? Do these men and women recognize the incredible privilege of being alive? Do they recognize that they may be the only sentient being in the universe that can do what they do? Do they recognize that the future of their planet is not guaranteed; that its future is in their hands? Yes, the planet will almost certainly outlast anything human beings can do. But life on earth as we know it may not. Do they recognize that it won’t survive if we annihilate each other through atomic warfare. Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer understood this; they worried about it even as they created nuclear energy. Do they recognize that biological warfare could wipe out all, or a substantial part, of the human race? Do they recognize how climate change can decimate life as we know it for ourselves and wildlife? I feel sure this superpower, no matter how we conceive it would lament that we can’t get along. They would lament that we don’t recognize that we have been privileged to live in this amazing world, with capabilities of imagination and innovation like no generation ever had before. And yet, we are our own worst enemies in so many ways. Do we treat each other and other countries as existential enemies rather than simply different people(s) with different views and different histories with whom we should get along by listening and understanding each other, and never--ever-- denying the right of other people(s) to exist? Wouldn’t this all seem so sensible to an outside power looking in on us, looking at our situation, on our challenges, and on our opportunities? I think so. We need leaders able to see this and act accordingly. Why is it that the Israelis, Palestinians and Arab leaders find it so hard to come together to resolve how to live together on the small piece of land that constitutes Israel and Palestine? Why can’t Russia and Ukraine come together to resolve how they will live together, have commerce together, share history together, and provide governance that meets the rights of people in different parts of their nations? The reason why reverts, of course, to the weaknesses that we have as human beings: the tendency to want to lift ourselves and our group up relative to someone else--or some other group. There was a time, not too long ago,when there was a passion and the perceived need for more land as populations grew. But isn’t it true that that need has largely gone? Don’t most countries now have enough land not just to survive on but to thrive on? I don’t pose this as a rhetorical question. Others may have a different point of view. But I think there is enough land, and we can create enough abundance to meet the needs of all people if we are imaginative and above all care about them. We are all children of God. We fought over oil in the past. We wanted to possess it because it was precious. And that remains a motivator. But is that any reason to have wars today? Can't we trade for oil, recognizing the rights of the countries that have it? For me, this perspective on how our planet looks to a Supreme Power carries a powerful motivation and obligation for us--the human beings present here--to preserve this planet which amazingly has been made ours. In doing so, we will not only be preserving the life of each of us who are a part of it now, but above all the billions who will follow us for generations to come. That is our opportunity. That is our obligation. J. E. Pepper