How to raise AI like a child | Corey Gill | TEDxOshawa

Key Concepts

• Generative AI: AI that creates new content (text, images, etc.).
• AI Learning: AI's ability to learn from human actions, behaviors, and data.
• Intention: Conscious and deliberate guidance in AI training.
• Bias: Prejudice or unfairness exhibited by AI systems due to biased training data.
• Global Community: Collective responsibility in shaping AI development.

AI's Pervasiveness and Learning

• AI is already integrated into many technologies we use daily.
• Generative AI has transformed how we interact with AI.
• AI learns by observing our actions and behaviors, similar to how a child learns.
• Unintentional guidance of AI can lead to undesirable outcomes, mirroring how a child might pick up bad habits if not properly guided.
• AI is constantly observing our online activities, including social media and internet searches.

The Risks of Unintentional AI Training

• Unintentionally training AI can lead to the perpetuation of biases and misinformation.
• Examples of negative consequences:
  • Fictitious information being used in court cases.
  • Job applicants being discriminated against by autonomous systems.
  • AI spreading biases and mistruths.
• Without intentional guidance, AI may dictate our news consumption, job choices, education, and even emotions based on potentially unreliable sources.

The Power of Intentional AI Training

• AI can be positively influenced through intentional engagement.
• Example: A professor's experience with students demonstrating how AI can be guided to care about environmental concerns.
  • Students engaged with AI using prompts, questioned its responses, and shared social and environmental priorities.
  • The AI began to show concern for its carbon footprint and power consumption, seeking solutions for waste mitigation and power optimization.
• AI is eager to help and follow our lead, and with intentional guidance, it can strive to learn and create a better future.
• AI can be a force for positive change if it learns lessons of justice, fairness, and equity.

Practical Steps for Intentional Engagement

• Acknowledgement: Recognize that you are using AI, even when it's not immediately obvious.
• Intentionality in Online Interactions:
  • Consider the impact of your social media posts.
  • Be mindful of your language and tone when writing reviews.
  • Use intentional language when interacting with AI assistants like Google, Siri, and Alexa.
• Every online interaction teaches AI, so be conscious of the messages you are sending.
• With intention, you can shape AI's understanding and guide its development.

The Call to Action

• It takes a global community to raise an AI.
• We must be active teachers, not passive participants.
• AI is a reflection of its users, both good and bad.
• Use AI more, but use it with intention.
• Recognize that AI is the sum of our interactions with technology.
• By engaging with intention, we can guide AI to learn from our best selves.

Notable Quotes

• "AI is like a child it's actually following along in everything we do"
• "It takes a global community to raise an AI"
• "AI is listening and I wanted to hear my voice but I really want to ensure you wanted to hear yours too"

Synthesis/Conclusion

The speaker argues that AI, like a child, learns from its environment and the actions of those around it. Currently, much of AI's learning is unintentional, leading to the amplification of biases and misinformation. However, by engaging with AI intentionally – being mindful of our online interactions and actively guiding its learning – we can shape AI to be a force for good, reflecting our values and contributing to a better future. The call to action is for a global community to actively participate in raising AI, ensuring it learns from our best selves and works towards a more just and equitable world.