And I do mean that sincerely. You see, I wasn’t supposed to be here. At least by societal norms, I wasn’t. Back when I was a kid, when I was waking up in a different town every few months, the only thing that was promised to me was the same chaos and poverty I had known all my life. And that’s why I know it’s a privilege to be here doing this work with you.
I have drive, focus, resilience and above all, humanity. Growing up in poverty gave me the soul-deep knowledge of what it feels like to be dehumanized. I can feel it again now with certain attitudes toward AI. There are some who see the risks AI poses to humanity and think, “Oh well, that’s the cost of progress.” Well, I think “the cost of progress” is a poor excuse for the loss of one’s humanity.
Those of us who are tech leaders have a responsibility to usher in technological progress that works in service to humanity. We are in charge of our future. We get to decide if we are going to design friendly helper robots or humanity-replacing overlords.
I've made my choice. How about you?