In a Freudian slip, I almost typed ‘‘post-human’ for the title.

As ‘pro-human’ would seem to have a lot in common with my ‘ethical tech’ concept, I applied to attend today’s Pro-Human (AI) Assembly in downtown DC and was accepted. I admit I was a bit afraid it would be mostly typical DC milquetoast policy discussion but there was plenty of fire, sharp presentations - and I dare say a note of panic.

Or at least true urgency. I’m still sort of processing it all. The thrust of the event was not anti-AI as much as how to build AI around human control, needs, and safety.

Now, before it’s too late.

Which it almost is, according to many if not most of the presenters, amid ominous reports of rogue AI bot swarms already acting in surprisingly well-coordinated ways. There was some mention of the idea that AI might kill us all but I’d say more along the lines of AI becoming too powerful to reel back in, where humanity loses control irrevocably.

At the very least, the prospect is AI gaining the upper hand. Some argued AI is already out of control and is, as one speaker put it, “intrinsically unsafe”. Actor/activist Joseph Gordon-Levitt sent a call-to-arms video in which he admitted he was “scared”. Ashley Judd talked of “non-cooperation with oppression”.

The temporary ‘slowdown’ the big AI companies are now proposing is thought to be insufficient at best, more likely a cynical diversionary tactic. Or perhaps they are spooked too.

There was plenty of guarded optimism though. In a somewhat perverse twist, one of the best reasons for optimism was the presence of none other than Steve Bannon.

Bernie Sanders was there sounding the alarm of AI peril, along with others from both sides of the aisle. But somehow it was Bannon being not entirely repellent on this topic at least, certainly fully on-side against the tech bros - “you can never trust what an oligarch says, they lie” - that gave a sense this is one thing we can all agree on.

Hyperbole and alarmism? Who knows, but the tone was determined not hysterical. There were certainly a number of bad-to-terrible possible outcomes outlined, based on where we seem to be heading with AI. I also came away with reasons to think we can rally to bring some sanity to the situation in time.

Either way, AI may not be inevitable but it is the proverbial genie out of the bottle. As one presenter said, whatever we come up with to control it will have to be sustained forever.

I do think it’s imperative that the average person takes this seriously and tries to get aware and involved. One place to start for the average person who doesn’t want to think about this stuff too much, as I explained to some people there during networking breaks, is my notion of demanding that all of our everyday apps - including your chatbot if you partake - meet basic ‘ethical tech’ criteria: data privacy, environmental protection, and integrity of ownership.

Want to stick it the bros? See my cheatsheet of ethical apps (expanded options here) that you can easily switch to in one sitting.

Yes we need to address the urgent AI issue. But ALL tech needs to held to account, now that we have more ethical options for just about everything you need to do online. You just have to be willing to make intentional, informed choices. There’s no excuse to continue to be wedded to the convenience of apps that come with too high of an ethical cost, like Google for example. This can create a helpful societal shift in the right direction. That’s my thesis and I’m sticking to it.

One guy told me this was a pointless approach, that the threat was too existential to dally with being ethical. But he was a curmudgeon, I recognized him from some online reels with a well-known influencer. Total doomer. Otherwise I got good response.

I can’t spell out all the proposed pro-human solutions here, for a deeper dive I suggest checking out the Pro-Human AI Declaration, currently at over a million signatures (including mine) and counting. Strong, sensible and lofty stuff. And the just-launched Pro-Human AI Coalition site.

I made a number of interesting and hopefully fruitful connections, though I have say it was a bit harder than it should have been for an independent, willing, ethical tech/pro-human foot soldier to volunteer their services. We’ll see what comes of it.

Notebook