Week 1 journal entry

I thought this weeks readings were an interesting way to start the course. The "AI as Normal Technology" article was relevant due to the current state of the AI industry. There's this constant narrative right now. that we are on the verge of the rapidly life-altering, but at the same time, theres growing uncertainty around profitability and sustainability surrounding companies in the spotlight (Open AI etc).

I do feel that the skepticism went to far in the other direction though as while I agree that "singularity" talk can be exaggerated, downplaying the risk so much feels slightly misleading. Ignoring the sci-fi takeover scnearios, there are still real social and psychological consequences showing up. For example AI-related psychosis (which has already lead to multiple suicides and murders), or usage by students and future implcations for education.

The second article helped balance out the week by focusing more on the foundations (how AI systems are built, trained and understood by humans), I appreciated how it pushed us to think more of our understanding of AI and what was important in its creation and the cultural vision for it throughout its creation. It also lead to great discussions in class over what was the most impactful period for AI and it was interesting to see that there was justification for all of them.

Something I'm excited to learn more about and discuss in class is where the responsibility lands when discussing harm and who is responsible for protection and safeguarding. Will even we be able to create and implement quickly enough to prevent significant harm to individuals or society? Are we running out of essential time to put in safeguards before this snowballs out of control? Overall, though, the readings helped me understand more of how we will be approaching the course and I'm looking forward to the rest of the semester