What are we afraid of?
Will AI end humanity as we know it? Many experts believe the risk is significant enough that this week they asked developers to pause the development of AI beyond GPT-4. Their words communicate clearly that humanity is at a threshold: Unchecked progress does not end well for us.
There is more to this story, however.
AI (specifically that with emergent capabilities) does not pose the greatest danger. Nor does climate change or another pandemic spell doom. What threatens us is much closer: Humankind’s greatest existential threat is our inability to work together.
You could see this challenge looming on the horizon decades ago. Humans have always been weaker when they are divided. In the past, however, a crisis or external threat brought us together. This is no longer the case. Our news sources are now bias boosters which not only separate us but provoke something far worse: Opposing views of reality.
Our purpose at Verus Global has never been more important: Establish collaboration as a core value in society.
Imagine a day when collaboration is modeled as an ethic grounded in the belief that a respect-based debate fuels the co-discovery of new knowledge needed for us all.
Our survival does not require learning how to work together. We already know how to do that. Instead, the quality of our existence depends on valuing this ethic so much that we will not operate any other way.
If we insist on continuing to operate in a world of blaming others for our inability to work together, should the end come, we will have no one to blame but ourselves.
Go first. Collaborate locally.
(AI is waiting to see what we value most.)
