The AI Race is a Myth: Why "Who's Winning" is the Wrong Question
Who’s winning and losing in AI plays like a wacky race in that every week there seems to be a new leader. But that’s actually the wrong way of thinking about today’s AI revolution. The right questions are about the three Cs: Capability, Capital and Civics. That’s the lesson of Keith Teare’s latest That Was The Week tech newsletter which focuses on what he calls “the Year in Intelligence”. Nobody is winning the AI race, Teare argues, because it isn’t a race. Instead, it’s an endless innovation cycle without either a start or finish line. The three key questions are whether AI capabilities are solving real social and economic problems, whether we can fund a $200 trillion industrial rebuild, and whether the rewards can be equitably shared. Those are the questions we should be asking. Not who is winning or losing.
Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
Why the "Words of Cesar Chavez" still matter: Peter Slen on the labor leader, Christian Socialist and voice of Hispanic America
The book that transformed how Americans think about economics: Peter Slen on the impact of Rose and Milton Friedman's 1980 defense of free market capitalism, "Free to Chose"
In defense of digital education: William B. Eimicke on how to level the learning curve and create a more inclusive and connected university
Is the current Gazan ceasefire a mirage?Jason Pack on Qatar, Iran, Biden, Hamas, Israel and the road to order in the disordered Middle East
Ten Ways of Winning Differently in the AI Age: Kate Bravery's truths about work, skills and education in the smart machine epoch
Digital Lennonism: Marga Hoek imagines how tech can solve some of the world's greatest challenges
The Last Ships from Hamburg: Steven Ujifusa on the race to save Russia's Jews on the eve of World War I
OpenAI , Sam Altman and the new war over capitalism in Silicon Valley: Keith Teare on the moral fight over technological progress triggered by the OpenAI brouhaha
Eight brilliant books to give this Xmas: Bethanne Patrick's list of literary gifts that will delight even the most discerning reader
The Shame of America's Six Million Homeless People: Kevin F. Adler on the forgotten humanity and broken systems causing today's American homelessness crisis
Why only humans can imagine the future: Margaret Heffernan on art, creative uncertainty and the insatiability of AI moguls like Sam Altman
How to protect our all-too-human superpower of creative thinking: Viktor Mayer-Schonberger on the guardrails needed to regulate big data companies like OpenAI
A Uniquely Glittering Literary Club: Christopher De Hamel on the remarkable people behind a thousand years of medieval manuscripts