Something big is happening in AI, but that’s the only thing Matt Shumer got right

Yes, AI can complete time-intensive, complex tasks at record speeds. That’s the one thing that Matt Shumer got right in his now-viral essay on AI. But the tone, substance, and other conclusions that characterize the piece are irresponsible, and unproductive. 

Shumer frames AI as something that’s happening to everyone at the exclusive direction of a shadowy Silicon Valley tech bros. He laments, “The future is being shaped by a remarkably small number of people.” Yet, in the very next section, he explains that he uses AI to create entire apps based on a few sentences – directions that any person could provide. 

Ironically, Shumer somehow missed the obvious conflict between those two points. Yes, a handful of labs are driving the frontier of AI development. But the resulting product empowers everyone to accomplish feats that were unimaginable just a few years ago. AI is a genius coder in the pocket of anyone with a smartphone and they, like Shumer, can now develop and use apps to solve problems, create businesses, and seek new information. 

This could be the greatest democratizing event of all time. 

Never has it been so easy for individuals of so many backgrounds to actively direct highly competent, sophisticated, and deeply knowledgeable tools through plain english (or most other languages). There’s no degree requirement to use AI. There’s a very low financial barrier to accessing some of the most powerful AI models. And, for now, there are few government restrictions on what questions, tasks, and goals users can assign to AI. In short, AI is the technological equivalent of a ballot to democratic governance–it’s a tool of liberty and empowerment, agency and choice, self-expression and self-direction. 

This isn’t hyperbole. People around the world are actively building tools that are improving their lives and the well-being of their communities. A few examples:

Thomas Wagner’s son, Max, was given a few years to live. Rather than accept that prognostication, Thomas made full use of Google’s Gemini tool to learn more about his son’s condition and advocate on his behalf. The research was life-saving. Thomas was able to correspond with experts and ensure his son received the necessary care.

An independent journalist, Georgia Fort, turns to ChatGPT to format newsletters and edit social media videos. The ten hours of work she saves per work is reserved for additional investigations that make her reporting richer and even more informative.

Researchers at Dartmouth Health lean on AI to sort through thousands of patient messages and identify those most in need of urgent care – saving money and lives. 

University of Cambridge experts created “Revoice,” which allows stroke survivors dealing which speech disorders to literally regain their voices.

The Oscar Mike Foundation, in conjunction with Meta, is assisting veterans and others affected by memory loss complete daily tasks thanks to the company’s AI-equipped glasses.

I could go on but the list would be overwhelming and would not stop because, as Shumer noted, everyone can build these tools. 

Shumer briefly flags the possibility that AI may allow more people to achieve their dreams But for the casual consumer of news, this optimistic bridge is hard to hear amid his suggestion that we’re in the middle of a COVID-like episode with many “threats,” to use Shumer’s own description. Drawing on other Chicken Little novellettes, Shumer suggests that people should assume their jobs will soon disappear, their savings are at risk, and that now – right now, this instant – may be the last time any of us can exercise meaningful control over the future of our professional and personal lives. He seems to believe that AI warrants a COVID-like degree of protectionist, panicked behaviors – behaviors that in retrospect weren’t even properly calibrated for a global pandemic. 

Again, Shumer is spot on that we’re experiencing a transformative technological era that warrants adaptation and individual action. Americans are adaptable, creative, and driven; our appetite to forge into the frontier has made us the richest nation on the planet. But rather than emphasize the opportunity waiting to be seized, Shumer wraps his message in doomsday-packaging that drains the innovative and optimistic energy that should characterize this moment. To his credit, Shumer has subsequently clarified that he did not intend to scare people. To his discredit, he’s surely wise enough to know that starting an essay on a general purpose technology with a reference to a pandemic that killed millions of people is necessarily going to evoke fear. 

The supposed good intentions of Shumer and others calling for us to become preppers rather than creators cannot make up for the gloom they’ve cast over the AI ecosystem. Many people fear AI. Legislators are feeling pressure to clamp down on its development and adoption as a result. The much more productive approach to this moment is to celebrate AI as a tool available to all and to focus on the tangible, specific, and comprehensive ways in which we can help more Americans access and benefit from these tools. 

A short list of things that Shumer could have listed if his goal really was to spark AI adoption:

1. Spreading the Right to Compute. Montana led the nation in passing legislation that limits infringements on the ability of any resident to make full use of AI and related technologies. Similar legislation is pending in states around the country. With these acts in place, Americans can more confidently invest in and make use of AI tools without fear of government intrusion.
2. Passing the AI Workforce Training Act. This bipartisan measure would provide businesses with a substantial tax credit for on-the-job AI training.
3. Celebrating school choice. Many public schools have taken an aggressive anti-AI posture. Families should have the ability to send their students to schools that recognize this moment and have the staff and resources necessary to train young Americans to thrive. 

Messages of fear spread quickly. They can drive people into defensive postures and cause them to miss big opportunities. AI isn’t a storm or an epidemic that we need to hunker down and wait out. It is a huge opportunity for each of us to achieve our American Dream, if we have the courage and fortitude to chase it.

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