What's the most important question right now?

The most important question right now is why we are currently descending into some form of collective madness, driven to an extraordinary extent by the PR announcements of only two companies, OpenAI and Anthropic. There is something very interesting and concerning going on psychologically, and it will impact the way society thinks about the future and that of our kids, with potentially far-reaching consequences.

Where are we taking AI too seriously, and where not seriously enough?

We are taking it too seriously when we think about AI bringing about the end of the world. It’s a transformative technology for sure, but in the end, it is just software. Because it can increasingly express things like a human would, we keep falling into the trap of thinking it is human-like. We’ve seen the same dynamics play out with robots in the last century. We just cannot help to feel that if it walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. It is not a duck - meaning AI is not a biological entity, and it does not want anything.

Conversely, what we are not taking seriously enough are those actors who do want something: evil people who get their hands on this powerful tech. The only way we will be able to defend ourselves is by leveraging this very technology for defense. But in this respect, the system is still asleep, from individuals to organizations to governments. My advice: on AI, get your act together now, or risk serious downsides. This is why I’m deeply worried about Europe.

What future are you looking forward to?

I am looking forward to a future where we have come to a collective understanding that AI isn’t something to be worried about in terms of human extinction, and that it brings us indeed many benefits. I honestly cannot wait for the “next” technology wave to arrive. Then we can tell each other stories of how crazy it was today, and how nobody talks about AI anymore, because all the attention has moved onto “the new thing”.