Wolfram also discusses the implications of AI in academia and government. He suggests that AI could change the nature of academic work and potentially serve as a tutor, providing personalized learning experiences. He also proposes the idea of a "promptocracy" model of government, where AI makes decisions based on collective input from citizens. However, he warns that while AI can suggest actions, it can't predict everything and may sometimes suggest actions that are not in line with human desires.
Key takeaways:
- Stephen Wolfram, a high school and college dropout, has made significant contributions to the field of artificial intelligence and computational thinking, which forms the basis of intelligent assistants like Siri.
- Wolfram believes that AI, as currently conceived, works well on things that humans have invented but not so well on things that are just sort of wheeled in from the outside world.
- He suggests that AI will change the way we perceive academic work and could potentially be used in government decision-making, a concept he refers to as the "promptocracy model of government".
- Wolfram warns that while AI can suggest all kinds of things that one might do, it can't predict everything and sometimes it will do things that aren't things we thought we wanted. The alternative is to limit AI to the point where it can only do things we want it to do and can predict, which will mean it can't do very much.