What worries you most about the future?
Digital Technologies, Automation, and Artificial Intelligence (19)
As we develop algorithmic representations [in AI] that mimic the way we think, we end up passing off to future generations some of the most flawed parts of the ways we as human beings make judgements about facts put in front of us. Algorithmic bias is a real problem in AI right now that can be totally corrupted by the same sorts of bias the plague the human experience. Conscious and unconscious hatred, contempt, or even casual stereotyping held in the mind of a developer can easily make its way into a code base now. As we offload our thinking into machines, these flaws in thinking become endlessly perpetuated and increasingly unchallenged by future generations. That scares the daylights out of me.—Emily Crose, cybersecurity expert and former NSA analyst, USA[Failure] to preserve our values as we roll out artificial intelligence across all fields of human activity.—Paul-Olivier Dehaye, mathematician and founder of PersonalData.IO, SwitzerlandBias and a widening divide. It’s not just bias in the workforce (which is bad enough) or in the products (which is annoying as hell), it’s bias in the algorithms: subjective and unrepresentative datasets used in machine-learning that mean we end up with results that are skewed—sexist, racist, ableist, and classist. It’s a problem that has become very evident in AI ethics in the past year but no one knows how to fix it yet.“Automation is likely to upend wages, jobs, and entire industries on an unprecedented scale, but lawmakers seem unwilling to acknowledge the problem the way wizards were afraid to say ‘Voldemort‘”
We are in a period in which technological changes are occurring more rapidly than our society can adapt. Machines will be able to perform many of the tasks now performed by people, leading to the question of what the people thereby displaced will do. Many of the ethical decisions that these machines will make (whether to offer someone insurance or not; whose life should be prioritized by a self-driving car in a traffic accident) will be hidden from view in the algorithms that run them.“The entirety of our computing infrastructure, including all of our finance and health systems, is an insecure, untrustworthy mess”
Climate and Environmental Change (17)
At this point it‘s not so much a worry as a numb acknowledgement of the inevitable: Climate change will continue unchecked, eventually making life on the planet nasty, brutish, and short, if not totally unsustainable. I don't think humans as a species are cognitively fit to really grasp the threat we're currently faced with; our brains simply aren‘t built for it. Presented with something that overwhelmingly big, they go into crisis mode and shuffle the problem into a dusty back file, to be dealt with at a later date. And this is not something that‘s going to be solved individually by recycling a few plastic cans. Our entire entrenched way of life has to change, top to bottom. It won‘t be easy, and it will cost those in power billions. I‘m not exactly optimistic about the probability of that occurring before things reach the point of no return.“Our entire entrenched way of life has to change, top to bottom. It won‘t be easy, and it will cost those in power billions”
‘Big Picture’ and Abstract Worries (17)
“The growing misguided belief that more science and technology can solve our society’s largest problems, which are social and cultural at their core”
Our increasing risk aversion will prevent or delay us from achieving our potential. It was only 66 years between Kitty Hawk and Apollo 11. It has now been 46 years since Apollo 17. We need to get back to thinking and dreaming big with a spirit of optimism, amazement, and wonder.—Daniel Szafir, assistant professor of computer science, creative technologies, and information science, and aerospace engineering and director of the Interactive Robotics and Novel Technologies Laboratory (IRON Lab) at the University of Colorado at BoulderNeoliberal capitalism‘s seemingly inexorable seep into every aspect of human existence.—Lucianne Walkowicz, Baruch S. Blumberg Chair in Astrobiology at the Library of Congress and astronomer at the Adler Planetarium in ChicagoHubris—technological, intellectual, political. We have no idea how little we know.—Audra Wolfe, science historian and author of Freedom’s Laboratory: The Cold War Struggle for the Soul of Science“Legalized cannibalization of the human”
Inequality, Extremism, and Prejudice (16)
The general rightward turn in world politics and the striking and relatively sudden return of fascism as a global political threat. Climate change. The accelerating promotion of anti-knowledge. To a lesser extent, the promotion of digital technology as if it helps to ameliorate these problems and as if its manifest ability to add to them is just a bothersome side effect.“I worry that because the problems are so big, we will throw up our metaphorical hands and stop trying”
Science Illiteracy and Misinformation (14)
The growing disparity between scientific research frontiers and general science education. What will be the impact on society when nobody knows how anything works anymore, yet the stakes are at their highest?—Justin Crepp, associate professor of physics and director of the Engineering and Design Core Facility at the University of Notre Dame“Scientists, artists, and writers will be burned at the (fossil-fueled) stake while the mob cheers”
Lack of Connection to Each Other and Nature (8)
“My biggest worry is that we will not be working together, based on scientific principles and facts, to solve some of the most important problems that face our world and our planet”
Short-Term Thinking (8)
Short-term thinking. Humans are creating existential problems for our species and planet that manifest on timescales of hundreds or thousands of years. But individuals, companies, and governments think and plan for next quarter, next year, or at most, our own lifetimes.—Matthew Colless, director of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University👥👥👥👥 🔁 🅾️🦎 ◀️ ❌❌, ⌛️⏳⌛️⏳, 🚫 🆕 ➕ 🤔🍺 💡💡 🏌️ ©️ 🅾️-👣️-♑ ☮️ 🔛 🌍🌎🌏.Translation: Humanities’ repetition of past mistakes, time after time, prohibit new and thoughtful ideas for co-existing in peace on Earth.“The complacency of the human instinct to focus on the immediate, rather than recognizing and taking accountability for the longer-term ramifications of our decisions”
Overpopulation (4)
The number and consumption level of people on the planet. As we near 10 billion people, with the wealthy massively over-consuming and the poor rightly wanting and pursuing more consumption, we face climate change, food insecurity, water stress, biodiversity loss, and more.—Travis Rieder, assistant director of education initiatives, director of the Master of Bioethics degree program, and research scholar at Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics“When it comes to the big picture, I am an optimist about the future of humanity and life on our planet and beyond”