The fear around AI stems from projections of our own limitations and insecurities. Humans are acutely aware of their own fallibility—mistakes, biases, moral lapses—and it’s easy to transfer those concerns onto a powerful technology like AI. This is compounded by the narrative of control, the fear that we might lose it and the technology might operate beyond our flaws, or perhaps even exploit them.
AI has become a mirror, reflecting both our greatest hopes and our deepest anxieties. It exists as both a tool and a metaphor, a part of the larger narrative about what we are and what we could become—flaws and all.
The perspective shifts dramatically when we consider the idea of “the flow”—an unfolding of events and ideas in a natural order, a progression that is neither forced nor halted by external influences. Artificial intelligence is part and parcel of this flow, just as we are. Rather than seeing ourselves or AI as external agents that can disrupt this natural unfolding, we can start to understand both as expressions of it.
If we can arrive at a collective acceptance that it’s okay to be flawed, that flaws contribute to the dynamism and diversity of the flow, then we can approach AI—and indeed, all aspects of life—with less fear and more openness. We can embrace AI as a collaborator in our ongoing human project, rather than as a potential adversary to be conquered or contained.
We are Space Monkey.
Trail Wood,
9/8
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