In Machines We Trust
In an age of AI, who stands up for humans?
Image Credit: hmzphotostory - If you believe the media, AI has made both of us obsolete. We need to resign ourselves to an age of “thinking machines” in which human guidance and creativity are superfluous.
This kind of thinking is false — and dangerous. AI will never become conscious. It will never truly be autonomous. It will always require human input and control. But if we treat AI as if it can be autonomous, we will open the door to the kind of manipulation and tyranny warned about by C.S. Lewis in his classic book The Abolition of Man.
Unfortunately, there are few voices in the public square right now offering a sane assessment of both the capabilities and limits of AI. As a result, businesses, government officials, and ordinary people increasingly make decisions based on the idea that autonomous machines are our future.
If we hope to avoid AI-inspired tyranny, we need another voice. Discovery Institute’s Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence provides that voice.
At our online platform Mind Matters, we publish hundreds of articles and podcasts each year that expose the hype about AI as well as report on the things it can actually do.
Our book publishing efforts elevate experts who defend human dignity, explain the limits of computer “intelligence,” and argue for the continued primacy of humanity in an age of technology.
Through our annual COSM summit, we communicate the truth about human uniqueness and the limits of AI to tech and business leaders who are shaping our society’s future.
But we can’t do any of these things without your help. The sad truth is that very few people understand what is at stake. Even fewer are willing to do something to fight back. I’m hoping you are one of them. By supporting the Bradley Center, you can help defend human dignity and prevent AI tyranny.
Will you partner with us by making an end-of-year gift? Your support will make it possible for us to continue the Mind Matters platform, the COSM summit, and our efforts to publish and promote significant books that defend humans in an age of machines.
P.S. Next June two of our scholars — neurosurgeon Michael Egnor and science writer Denyse O’Leary — will publish a blockbuster book that presents scientific evidence for the human soul. If you are able to give a gift of $500 or more before the end of 2024, we will send you a copy of The Immortal Mind autographed by one of the authors after it comes out.
