Should we put the brakes on AI? ⏸️
I wrote this article for Forbes this week about the calls from frontier AI companies for a slowdown in AI development. You can read it here. I wanted to get your take. Do you think they should slow it down?
23 replies
Brakes are not there to stop a car moving. They are what allow you to drive it with some degree of control.And the rest of the world is not slowing down. AI capabilities continue to develop quickly, while investment in the infrastructure behind AI is accelerating. Stanford’s 2026 AI Index describes capability as continuing to accelerate, while the IEA estimates that capital spending by five...
Like the problem with either AI doomers or zoomers, the premise lacks definitions like:1. Who is "we"? Sure it's the whole world, but in the US currently we are the ones selling AI doom in a way. And this is everywhere, so should "we" have a UN of AI? Yes, like 3 years ago, otherwise the we has little impact.2. AI? That overgeneralized phrase needs definition. Sure we're not going to put the...
I’m an Instructional and K12 AI coach, and the junior work section is the one that applies to my district. The boring tasks are where people learn. Remove them and you have not made people capable faster. You have removed the part where they built it.The same problem starts earlier than most of us look for it. Isabelle Hau's work on relational intelligence holds that the capacity to form,...
I think you are asking the right questions, and the article is much stronger when it moves away from “Will AI replace us?” toward “What capacities do humans need to keep developing when machines can perform more of the work?” Where I would push you is on the connection between that argument and the opening question about slowing frontier AI. They are related, but they are not quite the same...
Putting the brakes on AI in education is a real equity issue. I am so disturbed by the school systems putting bans on it. The haves will continue to have and will learn the benfits of these tools, while the have nots will not and so the divide over career options will grow and expand.
Watch the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica, and think about it!
Honestly, pressing pause on AI isn't going to fix things for schools. The tools out there right now are already clever enough to rewrite how homework works, so freezing development doesn't change what kids can access today.Instead of trying to stall the tech, we should be speeding up how quickly we adapt. That means training teachers, updating curriculums, and teaching students how to use AI...
In education I am not sure we are going fast enough to need brakes. We are barely in second gear but the speed is building up. We need to show students how to speed up, or slow down, at their own pace. No use relying on the air bags to save us. As for AI in the world outside of school, is the call for a slow down real or a face saving exercise to slow down as they are out of £ ? Too conspiracy...
I feel this question is a little ambiguous.1. Should we slow down AI use in education?No, as in many ways we haven't really got fully started yet. Many schools are only just starting to consider or roll out policies and governance, with some educators looking at how it can be used effectively to deepen learning and understanding (without outsourcing the thinking), as well as rethinking...
Your last paragraph is where the fear lives, with the military capabilities. Feels like the Manhattan Project all over again, and I am sure I do not want any of our current world governments to have that power at all.