The American public is being misled about artificial intelligence (AI). On one side, we are presented with dire predictions of job losses and oppression—even the potential extinction of humanity. Conversely, we are fed idealistic visions of a future free from labor, illness, and perhaps even death—a life devoid of purpose or direction. Both the utopians and the doomsayers make the same mistake: they overlook human agency. The trajectory of AI is not a fate that the American people must passively accept—it is up to us, the American people, to influence.
AI is not a deity. It cannot magically erase jobs; it is people who will utilize AI to eliminate or create employment. AI cannot choose to oppress us; it is individuals who will develop AI tools that either uphold privacy and civil rights or undermine them. AI did not opt to compose poetry or produce adult content; it is people who opted to manufacture inexpensive consumer products instead of authentic productivity tools. These are decisions that you and I must confront daily.
For the last twenty years, I have worked alongside individuals who are shaping the future of American AI. This group includes some of the finest software engineers globally, as well as college dropouts, veterans, self-taught blue-collar workers, and nurses. They do not view AI as something that will happen to them — they see it as a tool to enhance their productivity and contribute to a safer, more prosperous nation. And you should adopt this perspective as well.
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