DB x AI: Prologue (9.3.24)

Previewing a 5 essay series on AI and the Dissolution of Societal Ligature.

In archeological terms, an “artifact” is something “of human construction”, or something “shaped by humankind”. Pottery and tools you might see in a museum come readily to mind. Most of the world today is the product of what I call artifactual intelligence - it may sometimes bear the flaws of our shortcomings, but it often showcases the spark of our creativity or the wisdom of our experience.

Our world is entering a transition phase - from predominant reliance on artifactual, organic, intelligence to greater reliance on artificial, synthetic/ computational intelligence. This month, I am releasing five short essays outlining my thoughts on this transition.

Photo by Amanda Dalbjörn on Unsplash

Here’s the publishing arc:

I – My Pal HAL
Hollywood has been dreaming up ways for AI to kill us for over fifty years. Let’s take a look at some of my favorites as an appetizer.

II – Disappointment.AI
Underwhelmed with your AI experience? Maybe it matters more whether your AI is disappointed with you.

III – Hallucination.AI
We criticize AI for hallucinating. But what if seeing ghosts is a healthy intellectual habit for humans? What happens if we stop learning how to do so?

IV – Catharsis.AI
Autonomous systems promise speed, scale and efficiency. Are these attributes, or virtues?

V – Artifactual Intelligence
How should artificial and artifactual intelligence co-exist?

I recommend you read these one at a time. But you also opt to can return for the consolidated essay under the DB Exclusives section after 9.30.24.

J