It’s artificial, it’s intelligence
We don't have time to wait. Denmark needs a targeted effort to ensure that we as citizens and society build the necessary digital competences to handle artificial intelligence. The government should undertake work to identify and describe the competences needed to:
- Assess the credibility of the answers provided by e.g. ChatGPT
- Determine when it is reasonable and relevant to replace human knowledge with machinery
- Take a position on what should be regulated and what best unfolds freely
Targeted digital education
An obvious place to start is the subject of technology comprehension in school. Here, the content can be expanded to also address the challenges and opportunities of artificial intelligence. Secondly, public education associations, folk high schools and voluntary associations should be involved in the task, so that the entire population is given the opportunity to be dressed for the challenges of the time. It is really about strengthening our tradition of an enlightened population that can relate critically and constructively to new technologies. And it's about maintaining the ability to produce and assess knowledge, no matter where it comes from.
If we as citizens and as a society do not become much more competent in relation to the opportunities and challenges offered by artificial intelligence, we will lose the ability to control development and shape it for our own and common good. We must therefore clarify what we must be able to do – individually and collectively – in order not only to remain uninformed consumers.
Maintaining control over AI development
It is imperative that we all deal with artificial intelligence. We simply cannot escape. Intelligence is already built into a myriad of products that we use without hesitation – and with great benefit – in our daily lives: Search engines, chatbots, spell checks, music services and social media. At the same time, we are increasingly using AI to summarize entire disciplines, analyse huge amounts of data, solve complex problems and propose solutions to knotty problems – and then reproduce the results directly or in an adapted form.
So far, so good. But it is urgent that we take a position on whether artificial intelligence should play the role and gain the credibility that it seems on its way to. The question arises both in everyday life and in the workplace: Should we let an algorithm determine what we hear from music just because it knows our taste better than we do ourselves? Should we accept that a chatbot takes the colleague's role as sparring partner because it is faster and more secure in the answer? Should we demand that the diagnosis from the doctor be double-checked by an artificial counterpart? The general question is whether non-human-based knowledge should still play a decisive role.
Navigating the opportunities and risks
The questions may seem overwhelming, and the debate often takes the form of either-or: Either artificial intelligence is the key to solving all the world's problems, or it is a threat to our human dignity and self-determination. Either it frees up enormous resources, or we run the risk of machines taking over and outperforming us. The truth is that AI encompasses the whole spectrum – from the most positive to the most dystopian prospects.
Therefore, it will be crucial that we acquire the competences that enable us to make reflected choices, influence politicians and business leaders and act as conscious citizens, users and consumers. Only in this way can we take part in shaping the development that is already in full swing.
