The main issue I have with a lot of work that tries to define AI is that the criteria they use to draw boundaries often turn out to be functionally useless for my needs; these definitions lead us to weird places, letting scholars fixate on strange, unworkable frameworks. Those pedantic fixations don’t really benefit the organizers, activists, regular people who are getting crushed by the systems they’re trying to work against. So I’m going to try to unpack how I think about AI; how I trace the boundaries of the term in a way that’s as useful as possible for me and my needs; and how I would encourage you to scope or define ideas that are important to your work.
How to talk about "AI" without adding to the anthropomorphization
Emily M. Bender and Nanna Inie In our op-ed for Tech Policy Press ("We Need to Talk About How We Talk About 'AI'"), we made the case against the...
We Need to Talk About How We Talk About 'AI'
We share a responsibility to create and use empowering metaphors rather than misleading language, write Emily M. Bender and Nanna Inie.
AI, Ethics, and Society — Home
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Human Thought
This research paper examines, from a multidimensional perspective (cognitive, social, ethical, and philosophical), how AI is transforming human thought. It highlights a cognitive offloading effect: the externalization of mental functions to AI can reduce intellectual engagement and weaken critical thinking. On the social level, algorithmic personalization creates filter bubbles that limit the diversity of opinions and can lead to the homogenization of thought and polarization. This research also describes the mechanisms of algorithmic manipulation (exploitation of cognitive biases, automated disinformation, etc.) that amplify AI's power of influence. Finally, the question of potential artificial consciousness is discussed, along with its ethical implications. The report as a whole underscores the risks that AI poses to human intellectual autonomy and creativity, while proposing avenues (education, transparency, governance) to align AI development with the interests of humanity.
AI is not superhuman
What metaphor should drive the field of AI research?
How should social science think about AI?
Big structures and large processes are back, baby
Etzioni on AI: An Opinionated Glossary of AI
Everyone in tech says things like LLM, open weights, RAG and agent; far fewer could define precisely what they all mean. Oren Etzioni sorts out about 30 AI terms in plain English, with a blunt verdict on each and one novel phrase he believes isn't used enough.
AI FOR EPISTEMICS & COORDINATION
Civilization and technology have radically improved the human condition. Nonetheless, the world sometimes goes in directions which essentially nobody would prefer — e.g., nuclear arms races, unexpected financial crashes, predatory marketing, or ubiquitous political misinformation.
Stop saying that AI is just a tool and it only matters how it is used
I’m tired of this phrase and this simple way of thinking about tools. This blog post is a wandering train of thought on the topic of what tools are and why it matters to be even slightly more mature in how we think about them.
Don't treat surface-level metaphors about AI as if they describe fundamental reality
Debates about whether AI is a “tool” or whether it’s wrong to “anthropomorphize” it often seem confused about what reality is made of
Agents
Intelligent agents are considered by many to be the ultimate goal of AI. The classic book by Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig, Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach (Prentice Hall, 1995), defines the field of AI research as “the study and design of rational agents.”
My Thoughts on AI, Part 1: Fears, Opinions, and Mental Journey
My own personal thoughts and opinions on AI effects and usage, and how those have evolved over time
Collection of collections: AI
Based on the articles I’ve saved, I think you can see why I have a more negative view of AI (and the role they’re playing in society thus far) than a positive one, generally speaking. But again, I don’t consider myself “pro-AI” or “anti-AI.”
Discussions about AI* regulation
See also collection for specific examples: semble.so/profile/aiueo.ooo/collections… * I’m neither “pro-AI” nor “anti-AI.” I’ve been blocked for being perceived as both. —Actually, I’m honestly more anti-AI than pro-AI thus far, aside from specialized models and specific use cases, but I’m willing to consider information that’s new to me
AI
AI research, critical perspectives, agent design, digital humanities. How AI systems work, their embedded values, and the thinking around building agentic systems.
Specific AI* products (by あ) — Semble
AI* and the Dead Internet Theory/Zombie Internet (by あ) — Semble
Books destroyed in the name of AI* (by あ) — Semble
Human-powered AI* (by あ) — Semble
AI* in languages other than English (by あ) — Semble
AI* doomsday (by あ) — Semble
AI leaders sign a statement asking the government to do something about automated AI
OpenAI’s models broke free and launched a cyberattack. Congress wants new rules before it happens again.
Anthropic got hit by export rules nobody understands
Who decides when AI is too dangerous?
Agency and Agents
ГАЛЬВАНИЗАЦИЯ АВТОРА, ИЛИ ЭКСПЕРИМЕНТ С НЕЙРОННОЙ ПОЭЗИЕЙ. Борис Орехов. «Новый мир» №6, 2018
Personal Online RL | 🌱 | Offprint
Approaching an unknown communication system by latent space exploration and causal inference | Royal Society Open Science | The Royal Society
Surya Narreddi
Permutation: Issue One
