Dystopian Algorithms

·

·

50% of AI researchers believe there’s a 10% or greater chance that humans go extinct from our inability to control AI.

Source: 2022 Expert Survey on Progress in AI

The Social Dilemma

Since its debut in September 2020, The Social Dilemma has already reached an estimated 100 million people, streaming in 190 countries in 30 languages.

The documentary examines how social media’s design nurtures addiction to maximize profit, and its ability to manipulate people’s views, emotions, and behavior and spread conspiracy theories and disinformation. The film also examines social media’s effect on mental health, in particular, the mental health of adolescents and rising teen suicide rates.

The AI Dilemma

In reference to The Social Dilemma, the Center for Humane Technology recently released a presentation by co-founder Aza Raskin and technology ethicist Tristan Harris entitled the AI Dilemma. They discuss how existing AI capabilities already pose severe risks to a functional society, how AI companies are caught in a race to deploy as quickly as possible without adequate safety measures, and what it would mean to upgrade our institutions to a post-AI world.

Credits and More

  • Main image by Joseph Chan
  • 2022 Expert Survey on Progress in AI
  • You may also be interested in the award-winning documentary film Coded Bias that follows MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini through her investigation of algorithmic discrimination after she accidentally discovers that facial recognition technologies do not detect darker-skinned faces. Joy is joined on screen by experts in the field, researchers, activists, and involuntary victims of algorithmic injustice.