The transcript of a speech I delivered in a couple of Toastmaster clubs on this topic “Are we becoming more worldly with technology and AI?”
I want to explore with you one question, one human-centered question in this era of AI. “Are we becoming more worldly with technology and AI? “
Our great grandparents lived their whole life in their own village. They never left the village. They knew a lot about their village, their families and neighbors, They were close to knowing nothing in places that were not reachable to them. If you ask them what they thought of other villages. LIkely they would say they didn’t know, or they thought all villages were similar.
Fast forward to this generation. Information is at our fingertips. Phone is with us. Travel is part of our life. We know the world has a lot of variances. With AI, we can understand different languages without putting in the effort to learn it.
How many think “we are becoming more worldly with technology and AI”
Now I am going to share three experiences about different perspectives. The differences may be surprising, or even a bit unsettling.
First, with the internet, we can access and digest different channels. How many of you subscribe to a channel that consistently has a different point of views from yours? I did, on this channel of a YouTuber, the channel has good subscribers and has an incredible voice. He is negative, always finds flaws, and mostly only reports bad doings of the government. It is not easy but I want to understand his perspective. Over time, I still disagree with his point of view, but I start to see him as a person, get his perspective, and hear from him the dark side. I sometimes leave a comment. How do you become worldly or know the different perspectives?
Second, you have heard about Surveillance. Who thinks it is a good thing? Who thinks it is bad? I think it depends, and I don’t really mind to be monitored. Most news tends to be a bit negative about surveillance.. So I prompt different LLM “what do people think of surveillance”. While some LLM still share the negative before the positive, most show two sides of the opinion. AI can give us different views. Many friends told me they feel safer, they worry less, there is less crime, less drugs.
Third, the media all have their positions. We don’t want them to think for us. Example, XinJiang, China has been on CNN or BBC quite a bit. I prompt LLM to “tell me the latest news about XinJiang”. What did LLM say about XinJiang? Allegations of forced labor in supply chains, destruction of Mosques and religious suppression. It so happens that this week, seven of my siblings and in-laws are traveling to XinJiang, China. We have a real time connection using WhatsApp, I feel I am in California, I am also virtually visiting XinJiang, very cool. From my siblings, everyday, I am getting lots of pictures from them, eating local food, visiting local museums, talking to locals, and even dancing with the locals etc. They are obviously having a great time. The locals, they talk to, are happy people with their dreams for the future. They run into people doing road trips on their own, not that unsimilar to people doing road trips in America. Are you aware of the different perspectives?
With these perspectives, I ask again “are we becoming more worldly”?
AI gifts us more ways to see the world and the differences. It is one of the greatest gifts from technology and AI. We all can take advantage of the AI-powered world to become more worldly.
My speech is a tiny step so that we can become more worldly. You all can take bigger steps. You can prompt and push AI to give you different perspectives. Your choice from today onward makes all the difference whether we will have a world of acceptance and peace or a world of conflicts and wars.
Leave comments to share your thoughts on the topic too.
oliviatamccue 
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