I’m Not Paranoid About AI — I’m Grieving

The nightmares began in 2014. I’d just finished reading Nick Bostrom’s Superintelligence, which argued that humanity would be surpassed on the evolutionary ladder by superintelligent AI, leaving us to grapple with the profound implications of our own creation. For years, I was flooded with anxiety anytime the topic of AI came up in conversation, which admittedly wasn’t all that often, since I was spending most of my time surrounded by drunk NYU kids as a bartender on the Lower East Side. As their parents’ credit cards bankrolled my creative endeavors via fifty cent tips on fifteen Jager Bombs, I’d retreat into my mind to the soul-sucking sing-alongs of “Sweet Caroline,” and contemplate whether the grind of a struggling artist — given humanity’s current trajectory — was still worth it.

Through a combination of Tullamore Dew and Neil Diamond’s optimism, I’d arrive at the same comforting conclusion: my fears around AI were based on nothing more than speculation. Nobody knew what was going to happen, and there was no telling how long it might be before AI developed capabilities advanced enough to cause reason to worry.

Then came 2023…