Negotiating with AI

Mysterium tremendum et fascinans (mysteries that we simultaneously admire and fear): theologian-philosopher Rudolf Otto coined this phrase to describe the human response to the incomprehensibility of extraordinary phenomena that people encounter. This triggered the thought of artificial intelligence, an invention unlike anything humans have created. From carrying out complex medical diagnoses to engaging in poetic conversations, AI is fascinating. But there is another side to it as well, a power that can have hugely undesirable consequences for people and the environment, argues Professor Farid Panjwani, Dean of the Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development in a recent op-ed. Technologies require negotiation. A well-negotiated car — serviced and well-driven — serves superbly for years. Mishandled, it gives trouble and becomes a burden. When technologies have a collective social use and impact, this negotiation involves wider material, legal and social factors for the realisation of its full potential, he adds.