Why Aren´t We All Working Together to Build AGI?

Should we worry?

The truth is, we should all worry about the many possible outcomes of this incredible technology. Something as big as AGI (artificial general intelligence) should bring humanity together. We should all sit down, join hands, and say: “This could change everything. Let’s be smart. Let’s build it together.”

I mean, something this revolutionizing, something that will completely transform the world as it is right now - at least, this is what the major developing companies are claiming - should then, by all considerations, be built by all of us. And by ´all of us´ I mean the world.

But that’s not what’s happening.

And the reasons why are both simple… and deeply human. 

First: We don’t agree on what AGI is for. For some, it’s a tool to make billions of dollars. For others, it’s a way to gain military or political power. For scientists, it’s a puzzle. For dreamers, it’s hope. For many people, it’s just fear of the unknown.

So, without a shared goal, there’s no shared direction.

Second: It’s become a race. Governments want to be first. Tech companies want to be first. Even open-source communities are in a rush. Everyone’s afraid of being left behind.

And when something becomes a race, it stops being a conversation.

Third: Even the experts can’t agree. Should AGI be open or closed? Should we build it slowly or as fast as possible? Should we align it to human values, or let it choose its own? 

Some want to pause. Some want to sprint.  And most of the world? Still trying to understand what it is. 

Fourth: Most people on Earth are being left out. The whole thing is happening so fast, most of us still haven´t had the chance to even use it.

Now, I wanna tell you a little secret and hopefully this will get you, at least, a bit mad to want to do something about it; Most of the decisions are being made by a small group of people, mostly men, mostly white, mostly in Silicon Valley.

The rest of us, the world; Africa, Asia, Latin America, small countries, Indigenous communities, are not in the room. Not even close.

But AGI will affect all of us. It could even be the end of us. And this is the main point of this post:

Shouldn’t we all have a voice?

The sad thing is that we all still act like tribes, not a species. We’re divided by nations, politics, language, race, class. Even in the face of something that could remake the world, we act like it’s just another game of “us vs them.”

So what to do?

We slow down. We include more voices. Voices of ALL kinds. And then we slow down again. Maybe then we can start imagining a future that belongs to all of us, created and designed by all of us, not just a few.

I truly hope we can figure out how to best do this, because the way we are going the world will not be as magical and beautiful as it is today. (I´m being a bit sarcastic.) But can you imagine that? Could it be worse than what we have today? Oh yes it could. A lot worse.

Thanks for reading. Abrazos.

Diego Rojas