Gresham College Lectures AI Will Be Your Overlord: Faster, Brighter, Better Than You?
Oct 7, 2025
Matt Jones, a computer scientist at Swansea University, dives into the intriguing intersection of AI and human life. He explores themes like whether AI will enhance or diminish human achievement, and what the rapid progress of AI means for our future. Jones contrasts human creativity with machine output, raising questions about trust in AI systems. He touches on risks like deepfakes, advocates for empowering technology, and reasons for hope, suggesting a more optimistic future for human-AI collaboration.
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Apocalyptic Narratives Drive AI Anxiety
- Humans worry AI will end our apex status but feelings vary across optimism and fear.
- Dominic-style prophecies echo historical doomsayers, shaping public anxiety about AI's future.
AlphaGo And Human Shame
- Matt recounts Lee Sedol's shame after losing to AlphaGo to highlight human emotional reactions.
- He questions why technologists build systems that cause fellow humans to feel embarrassed.
AI Should Empower Underserved Intelligences
- Matt contrasts global literacy disparities with obsessing over elite AI feats.
- He argues we should focus AI to empower the hundreds of millions of unread rather than only chasing superhuman benchmarks.
