What can be done to save humanity from bad AI? Answer: “True Open Source AI”

Michael McAnally
3 min readJun 9, 2023

--

Since I don’t work for any large companies involved in AI, nor do I anticipate ever doing so; and considering that I have completed my 40-year career (as an old man -now succesfully retired), I would like to share a video by someone I came across during my research into “True Open Source AI.”

I completely agree with the viewpoints expressed in this video (of which begins at ~ 4 mins into the video after technical matters) . Additionally, I would like to add some of my own thoughts as well.

We need open source alternatives to large corporations so that people (that’s us humans) have options for freedom, and personal privacy when it comes to locally hosted AIs. The thought of a world completely controlled by Big Corp AI is even more frightening than George Orwell’s “Big Brother.” I believe there must be an alternative to this nightmarish scenario.

For me, the issue boils down to basic human behavior. I fear that humans will be responsible for all the problems associated with AIs. Consider military black projects (things most definitely going on that we don’t know about in countries across the globe), aggressive and addictive social networks, ubiquitous advertisers influencing people’s behavior in ways that are even more insidious than they already do. There is real danger and damage inherent in these situations, and we can see its effects already on individuals and our society. Job displacement will be another affect, but I’m not specifically addressing that problem in this post.

As a long-time futurist with experience spanning decades trying to investigate the possible (see my other blogs), I envision a golden age of clean energy, advanced science, longevity, space exploration and transhumanism. We will have the ability to repair the damage that humans have inflicted on the biosphere. However, I am realistic enough to understand that there will never be a utopia under current human conditions and behaviors. It’s not possible for us to work together in that way, I give you all of human history as proof of that.

As a first step towards creating a better future, let’s ensure that there are free open source alternatives to corporate AI available for use by everyone. This approach might be the savior of humanity itself. Not just science fiction, and certainly no joking matter!

Choose a side or forever be disempowered. Please help in spreading the word. A clap up would be nice too . . .

--

--

Michael McAnally

Temporary gathering of sentient stardust. Free thinker. Evolving human. Writer, coder, and artist.