💬 “Our focus now together as a society is on having a holistic and collective conversation to ensure that AI is only implemented in ways consistent with fundamental human dignity and only for purposes consistent with each of our personal democratic ideals and liberties. The call to action is I hope you'll be a part of that conversation because I don't want future societies or future groups to say. I wish our eyes had been more open on that topic when it mattered.”

This is a conversation with Michael Kanaan

🎙️ Michael is the co-chair of Artificial Intelligence for the US Air Force at the Pentagon. In that role, he guides the research, development, and implementation strategies for AI technology and machine learning activities across Air Force global operations. He is currently the Director of Operations for Air Force / MIT Artificial Intelligence. In recognition of his fast-rising career, he was named to the 2019 Forbes “30 Under 30” list and has received numerous other awards and prestigious honours—including the Air Force’s 2018 General Larry O. Spencer Award for Innovation as well as the US Government’s Arthur S. Flemming Award (an honour shared by past recipients Neil Armstrong, Robert Gates, and Elizabeth Dole).

🎧 Michael Kanaan is the author of T-Minus AI: Humanity’s Countdown to Artificial Intelligence and the New Pursuit of Global Power. In this episode, Mike talks about why he wrote the book, and he shared his thoughts on the confusion and misinformation around what is artificial intelligence. Especially what aspects of our lives will be changed by AI? Which of those changes will be beneficial and which have been harmful? And what can we do to ensure that AI is only used in legal, moral, and ethical ways?

How do we cultivate a reasonable understanding to the point in which we can all partake in meaningful conversations about the use of AI and to recognise the problems that Science Fiction and myths about artificial general intelligence have had on the value of these conversations.
Michael talked at length about biases and how these are represented in machine-based decision making and how we can review the impact of AI-based on plotting it on a graph for worldview and impact.

We spoke about the different lenses that people around the world see AI through depending on the use of it and the major technology corporations Head Quartered in their countries.
Michael compared the use of AI in the West to how it is deployed in China.
He closed with his call to arms for more people to get involved in understanding artificial intelligence so that they can join this important conversation.

I’ll quote his final comments that you will enjoy hearing again from his own voice at the end of the episode.

Our focus now together as a society is on having a holistic and collective conversation to ensure that AI is only implemented in ways consistent with fundamental human dignity and only for purposes consistent with each of our personal democratic ideals and liberties. The call to action is I hope you'll be a part of that conversation because I don't want future societies or future groups to say. I wish our eyes had been more open on that topic when it mattered.