Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 60

Twitter’s Tweetstorm – Navigating The Chirps And Chatter Of Twitter’s Changes

It seems like a never-ending flurry of Twitter news.

Is it all happening to, simply, create media energy and keep the brand top of mind?
Is it all happening because Twitter is changing into something not recognizable in the grand scheme of social media platforms?

If we look at the three main challenges/opportunity, it’s easy to argue both sides:

1. What is value of the blue checkmark, and will users convert to the Twitter Blue paid platform?

The negative: Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, he has been dismantling the platform’s core strengths by fiddling with the blue checkmark. This includes driving out expertise, scaring away celebrities/creators, and rewarding bad actors willing to pay for the blue checkmark. This has led to the platform losing its value as an information network and becoming a much worse echo chamber.

The positive: Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, he is dismantling the blue checkmark as a symbol of “status” and moving users to a place of “verification.” When someone pays, Twitter has this individual’s real credentials (including credit card information), so while some users think they are paying to have “status,” they will, eventually, realize that they are “verified” as the concept of “status” disappears. This could be a path forward for new revenue streams (that aren’t ad-driven) to ensure the platform’s long-term sustainability, rather than a deliberate attempt to dismantle the current hierarchy between users.

2. Is paying for social media the future? How will creators be compensated?

The negative: Twitter used to be a free platform where users could engage in meaningful conversations and gain access to valuable information and individuals. However, under this new ownership, Twitter Blue grants increased visibility and verification to paying users, which reduces the free access to quality information. If everyone can’t have the same access to information, this could further erode a company, community and an individual’s ability to communicate information to the masses/their followers.

The positive: Twitter, like other social media platforms (Meta and Snap are also moving towards paid models), needs to adapt and evolve to stay relevant in the competitive digital landscape. The introduction of a subscription model could be a step in that direction. If consumers are willing to pay for Spotify and Netflix, maybe paying for social media is a logical step (see: OnlyFans) as a way for Creators to truly monetize the content that they are creating/sharing.

3. Is Twitter moving towards a better user experience?

The negative: With the introduction of Twitter Blue and changes in verification, genuine users are finding it increasingly difficult to access quality information, leading to a decline in the user experience and making the platform less relevant. There seems to be a sentiment that more polarizing (and wrong) information is now being shared on the platform.

The positive: By paying for access to Twitter, we might see better (and quicker) changes to an improved user experience. What might make it better? Just look at the current “For you” and “Following” tabs as an example. Plus, if users all pay, shouldn’t this reduce spam, misinformation, and other undesirable content on the platform, if we know who the bad actors are?

My bigger point?

In order for us to see the future, we have to be able to imagine both sides of the equation.
While our instincts to be positive (or negative) take root, there is (usually) other options in terms of what is going on.

Ask yourself these questions… often:

Is this change positive? If so, why?Is this change negative? If so, why?

For every person leaving Twitter, there might be someone joining it.

This is what Heather Backman and I discussed over on 95.9 Star FM for a couple of minutes today.

What is Tech Tuesday?

Every Tuesday – for just a few minutes – I join Heather Backman (my old buddy from her days on CHOM FM and Jack 103) on the air at 95.9 Star FM to give a quick blast about the current state of technology, media and Internet culture.
We call it Tech Tuesday (and we do it in just a few minutes).

Once the segment goes live on 95.9 Star FM, I will post it here for you to listen in, learn, share and engage.

Mitch Joel · Twitter’s Tweetstorm – Navigating The Chirps And Chatter Of Twitter’s Changes

Before you go… ThinkersOne is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Mindy Weinstein On The Power Of Scarcity – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #874 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to

Let’s delve into the fascinating career of Mindy Weinstein, PhD, and her passion for the marketing industry from a psychology perspective. As a writer from a young age, it was during college when she discovered marketing and realized the immense power words have in driving action. This revelation led her to establish her own marketing agency, Market MindShift, and secure her position as an expert in the field. Her fascination with persuasion inspired her to explore the intersection of psychology and technology, ultimately earning her a PhD. After five years of research, Mindy encapsulated her knowledge into her insightful new book, The Power of Scarcity – Leveraging Urgency and Demand to Influence Customer Decisions. Mindy also hosts the Persuasive Woman podcast, where she investigates the ways in which psychology can help individuals excel in business and their careers. In this episode, we deconstruct how scarcity affects our brains and decision-making, and how companies can use it to successfully and ethically market their products and services (and what to do when they don’t). Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via Apple Podcast or whatever platform you may choose):  #874 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement  and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

SPOS #874 – Mindy Weinstein On The Power Of Scarcity

Welcome to episode #874 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #874. Let’s delve into the fascinating career of Mindy Weinstein, PhD, and her passion for the marketing industry from a psychology perspective. As a writer from a young age, it was during college when she discovered marketing and realized the immense power words have in driving action. This revelation led her to establish her own marketing agency, Market MindShift, and secure her position as an expert in the field. Her fascination with persuasion inspired her to explore the intersection of psychology and technology, ultimately earning her a PhD. After five years of research, Mindy encapsulated her knowledge into her insightful new book, The Power of Scarcity – Leveraging Urgency and Demand to Influence Customer Decisions. Mindy also hosts the Persuasive Woman podcast, where she investigates the ways in which psychology can help individuals excel in business and their careers. In this episode, we deconstruct how scarcity affects our brains and decision-making, and how companies can use it to successfully and ethically market their products and services (and what to do when they don’t). Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 49:29.Hello from beautiful Montreal.Subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.Check out ThinkersOne.or you can connect on LinkedIn.…or on Twitter.Here is my conversation with Mindy Weinstein.The Power of Scarcity – Leveraging Urgency and Demand to Influence Customer Decisions.Market MindShift.Persuasive Woman podcast.Follow Mindy on LinkedIn.Follow Mindy on Twitter.This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #874.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement  and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #667

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another: 

The Fish Doorbell. “The Dutch don’t open certain locks in the spring. The Fish Doorbell is a crowdsourced solution to the problem of fish migrations in the locks and canals of the Netherlands. People watch a camera next to the lock doors. When they see a fish, they press a button. Enough presses, and the operators open the lock doors to let the fish through. This is a great example of Internet edge cases—and something that could be done by AI, but it is a great way to raise awareness of fish populations. You’ll need to use Google Translate to view this in English (unless you happen to speak Dutch), so I’ve provided the translated link.” (Alistair for Hugh). WavTool . “Another example of AI changing everything. While we’ve been obsessing over all the outputs of large language models, the fact that it can take simple text as input is revolutionary. This is the first technology that has absolutely zero learning curve. It is its own documentation. As a result, it is dramatically reducing—even eliminating—the barriers of entry in domains that used to take years to master. And it’s here for music now, too. WavTool is an example of this kind of innovation: Just give it feedback, and it’ll update a song in a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW.) ‘Add some high hats,’ or ‘make the melody happier.’ Impressive, but the downstream effects are going to be astonishing. We’re going to flood the world with user-generated content. Spotify has 11 million artists — if we assume a population of two billion Internet users, that’s one in 181 people. What happens when it has 110 million? 1.1 billion? Interesting times.” (Alistair for Mitch and video below). Yes, plants can talk: Groundbreaking study finds plants make sounds at a high frequency when stressed – CTV News . “Remember that horrifying Roald Dahl story, The Sound Machine, about the guy who builds a super sensitive sound detector, only to be terrorized by the sound of the grass crying in agony when being mowed, and trees screaming in pain when branches are sawed off?” (Hugh for Alistair and video below). Hotel California – One girl One band – Study hard at the age of six – Miumiu Guitargirl – YouTube . “I don’t even think the most malicious AI could come up with something as creepy as this.” (Hugh for Mitch) ChatGPT is going to change education, not destroy it – MIT Technology Review . “This is a very ’today’ relevant article. I’m seeing schools ban the use of ChatGPT for their students. Ignorance (or lack of knowledge) is a dangerous position when you’re butting up against this type of technology (one that is quickly-adopted, exponential in growth, and adaptive – moment by moment). Calling for a ‘ban’ does nothing. All schools need to rethink everything… and do it now. If I was in charge of an educational institution, these are the questions I would be asking: How can ChatGPT be integrated into the curriculum without disrupting the traditional teaching methods, which have been around for centuries? What strategies can be employed to ensure that students maintain a balance between AI-assisted learning and traditional education? How can educators adapt their teaching methods to capitalize on the potential benefits of AI? In what ways can ChatGPT contribute to reducing educational disparities and increasing access to quality education for students in underprivileged or remote areas? How can the education system address potential ethical concerns related to data privacy and algorithmic biases when using AI? And, there are more. I fear that most schools are simply worried about ‘cheating’.” (Mitch for Alistair). Here are the 14 incredible things created with GPT-4 – Sam Woods – Twitter . “This is a wild ride. Just scroll through this Twitter thread… most people think commercialized AI is all about creating more copy/content… most people are really not paying attention to what AI can do… and how quickly it’s learning and expanding its capabilities. You have been warned…” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

Robert Trujillo From Metallica On This Month’s Groove – The No Treble Podcast

Robert Trujillo is this month’s conversation on Groove – The No Treble Podcast.

Groove – Episode #100: Robert Trujillo by No Treble

You can listen the new episode right here: Groove – The No Treble Podcast – Episode #100 – Robert Trujillo.

Who is Robert Trujillo ?

We are here. Welcome to episode #100 of Groove – The No Treble Podcast. We thought we would do something (extra) special to celebrate 100 months (over eight years) of gathering, recording and preserving these incredible oral histories of bass players from across the world and across genres. So, for the first time, we decided to invite one bass player back for a second appearance. And, with his band’s latest album, 72 Seasons, about to be released we knew it had to be none of than Robert Trujillo from Metallica. Rob was our first guest back in January 2015. The catalyst for that conversation was his involvement in the creation of the amazing Jaco Pastorious documentary, Jaco. And, for those who don’t know, he was responsible for ensuring that the Pastorious family got back Jaco’s famed Bass of Doom. Along with spending the past 20 years holding down the groove for Metallica, Rob’s career also includes Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves, and playing with Ozzy Osbourne. Rob was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Metallica in 2009. Rob is heavily influences by funk, jazz and Motown. He is known for his intricate basslines and thunderous grooves. Rob’s contribution to Metallica’s music and legacy cannot be overstated. As one of the most influential and successful rock bands of all time, Metallica has sold over 125 million albums worldwide and won numerous awards. Rob’s musicianship and passion for the bass have helped to solidify Metallica’s status as one of the greatest bands of all time. Cheers to another one hundred episodes! Enjoy the conversation…

What is Groove – The No Treble Podcast?

This is an ambitious effort. This will be a fascinating conversation. Our goal at Groove is to build the largest oral history of bass players. Why Groove? Most of the content about the bass revolves around gear, playing techniques, and more technical chatter. For us, bassists are creative artists with stories to tell. They are a force to be reckon with. These are the stories and conversation that we will capture. To create this oral history of why these artists chose the bass, what their creative lives are like, and where inspiration can be found.

Listen in:  Groove – The No Treble Podcast – Episode #100 – Robert Trujillo.

Are you interested in what’s next? How to decode the future? I publish between 2-3 times per week and then the Six Pixels of Separation Podcast comes out every Sunday. Feel free to subscribe (and tell your friends). 

The Great Tom Peters

The legend of management thinking, Tom Peters, announced his retirement recently.

Like many, Tom’s inspiration (which led to a friendship) is something that I both treasure and do not take for granted.
He’s been a guest of mine on Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast at least five times (and I’d welcome him 50 times more, if he would be willing).
Over two decades ago, I took a job as a Director of Marketing for a mobile content business. I was very excited about this opportunity because it involved working directly for Andy Nulman.
At the time, Andy was best known for being the founder of the Just For Laughs comedy festival, but he decided to try out the technology and content world.
On my first day, I walked into his office, and Andy handed me a copy of Tom’s book, The Project50 (Reinventing Work).
Up until that point, I don’t think I had ever read a “real” business book.

I devoured that book.

Not only did I devour that book, but it sent me on a life-long jounrey to read, consume and find anything and everything like it.
In short, Tom Peter’s thinking and writing style was the catalyst (along with some prodding from my friend/boss, Andy) to learn.
Not to read, but to learn.

Not to worry about school, but to get a real education.

Since then, I have read thousands of books (including every single book that Tom published), and my life is better because of it.
I can’t even count how many new and interesting authors Tom’s work has introduced me to (I still think that Funky Business by Jonas Ridderstrale and Kjell Nordstrom is a gem!… and there’s no doubt that Seth Godin and I see things so similarly because of the connective tissue that is Tom Peters).
In 2003, right before Tom released his magnum opus, Re-Imagine!, I drove six hours (twelve total roundtrip!) to see him speak in Toronto.
I wound up going to local Toronto bookstore, where he was also doing an event in the earlier part of the afternoon, just so I could catch him twice in a day.

What happened at those two book events forever changed me.

I had never seen Tom speak in public before, so watching him prowl up and down the aisle (who needs a lectern!) and speaking to his audience in both a whisper and then a scream, inspired me to think differently about what a  “presentation” should be.
The way that Tom designed his slides (and used them) as a catalyst for the words that were coming out of his mouth, taught me that knowing your content is a whole other world away from presenting content in PowerPoint.

I was more than inspired… it was a personal religious experience.

From there, I’ve had the honor of not only sharing the stage with Tom on numerous occasions, but to connect, chat and become friends.
As someone who spent over a decade in the music industry, I would often tell people that they should never meet their heroes.
Well, Tom, is definitely one of the rock stars in my life, and am I ever-happy that I didn’t take my own advice.
When you get to know Tom, you realize that it only reinforces the words that he writes and the presentations that he gives.
When Tom writes about Extreme Humanism, it’s because he lives it.

Full stop.

Tom is compassionate, caring, real and a true human being.
Tom cares about success in business, but he cares more for humanity, people and equity.
Thanks, Tom… I don’t know where I would be without you.

It turns out that you can both retire and be a breath of fresh air in the same sentence.

Before you go… Tom is still available on ThinkersOne (so have him pop into your next meeting or client event!). ThinkersOne is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Johann Hari On The Attention Crisis And Reclaiming Our Focus – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #873 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to

I have been struggling with my attention and focus. I have noticed the same issues with the younger people in my life. I’m seeing teenagers scroll TikTok (with no volume) like it’s a fidget spinner, and adults who can’t interact with others without their iPhones being involved. This could be one of the most important conversations about our present (and future) that I have ever had (not exaggerating). Meet Johann Hari, a three-time New York Times best-selling author and Executive Producer of an Oscar-nominated movie and a star-studded TV series. His writing has been praised by icons like Oprah, Noam Chomsky, Elton John, Naomi Klein, and more. His last book Stolen Focus – Why You Can’t Pay Attention took the world by storm in 2022. Garnering multiple awards and accolades, it became a best-seller across three continents… and was, without a doubt, my favorite book of the year. He is also the author of, Chasing the Scream and Lost Connections. With close to 100 million views, Johann’s TED Talks are a must-watch. Stolen Focus is an incredibly relevant and essential read in today’s fast-paced digital age. The book delves into the root causes of our dwindling attention spans and offers insights into how we can reclaim our ability to focus. This well-researched book uncovers the consequences of this information overload on our mental health, relationships, and overall well-being. We are in this attention crisis. How do we make conscious choices and reclaim our focus, ultimately paving the way for a more attentive and productive society? Listen in. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via Apple Podcast or whatever platform you may choose):  #873 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement  and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

SPOS #873 – Johann Hari On The Attention Crisis And Reclaiming Our Focus

Welcome to episode #873 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #873. I have been struggling with my attention and focus. I have noticed the same issues with the younger people in my life. I’m seeing teenagers scroll TikTok (with no volume) like it’s a fidget spinner, and adults who can’t interact with others without their iPhones being involved. This could be one of the most important conversations about our present (and future) that I have ever had (not exaggerating). Meet Johann Hari, a three-time New York Times best-selling author and Executive Producer of an Oscar-nominated movie and a star-studded TV series. His writing has been praised by icons like Oprah, Noam Chomsky, Elton John, Naomi Klein, and more. His last book Stolen Focus – Why You Can’t Pay Attention took the world by storm in 2022. Garnering multiple awards and accolades, it became a best-seller across three continents… and was, without a doubt, my favorite book of the year. He is also the author of, Chasing the Scream and Lost Connections. With close to 100 million views, Johann’s TED Talks are a must-watch. Stolen Focus is an incredibly relevant and essential read in today’s fast-paced digital age. The book delves into the root causes of our dwindling attention spans and offers insights into how we can reclaim our ability to focus. This well-researched book uncovers the consequences of this information overload on our mental health, relationships, and overall well-being. We are in this attention crisis. How do we make conscious choices and reclaim our focus, ultimately paving the way for a more attentive and productive society? Listen in. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 1:05:40.Hello from beautiful Montreal.Subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.Check out ThinkersOne.or you can connect on LinkedIn.…or on Twitter.Here is my conversation with Johann Hari.Stolen Focus – Why You Can’t Pay Attention.Chasing The ScreamLost Connections.Johann’s TED Talks.Follow Johann on Instagram.Follow Johann on Twitter.This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #873.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement  and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #666

Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (Solve for Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person “must see.”

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another: 

Africa by Toto to play ‘for all eternity’ in Namib desert – Guardian News – YouTube. “Because of course it is. I don’t know about ‘eternity’’ – As any Burner will tell you, solar cells get pretty weak when they’re buried in drifting sand. But Max Siedentopf — who’s German and Namibian — decided to loop Toto‘s classic forever. I find the thought of some alien visitor or post-apocalyptic tribe stumbling across this, blowing the dust from its solar cells, and hearing the track start very entertaining.” (Alistair for Hugh and video is below). The Alameda-Weehawken Burrito Tunnel – Idle Words . “Maciej Cegłowski is one of my favorite writers on the Internet. He’s spoken at Strata before, and has serious technical chops, but what draws me to him is the sheer variety of things he writes about. As someone whose ADHD leaks into his blogging, I understand Maciej’s scattershot subject matter at a profound level. Here’s a classic from 2007, describing the transcontinental vacuum tube few people know about that supplies NYC with Mission-grade Bay Area burritos. In an era of AI-generated plausible bullshit, it’s nice to see a human at the top of their bullshit game too.” (Alistair for Mitch). Louis DeJoy’s Surprising Second Act – Time . “I’m not sure exactly what I love about this story, or maybe I do: Trump appointee many thought was sent to destroy the postal service, saves it instead. Nice arc.” (Hugh for Alistair). ‘The Big Lebowski’ Turns 25: “People Didn’t Get It,” Jeff Bridges Recalls – The Hollywood Reporter . “The Dude’s movie is 25 years old.” (Hugh for Mitch). Pausing AI Developments Isn’t Enough. We Need to Shut it All Down – Time . “In celebration of this being the 666th time that we have shared links with one another (and published them into the world), I thought I would spin some content that is either devil-ish, evil or… about the end. This week, I’ve spoken (and written) ad nauseam about why we should not stop/pause the development of AI (you can read/listen to my tirade right here: Fear Of An AI Planet), so let’s read about someone who believes the exact opposite of me… someone that wants to kill AI (maybe before it kills us?)…” (Mitch for Alistair). Twitter is dying – TechCrunch . “Let’s continue down the road with all things evil and ‘on the nose’ with the weekly theme for #666. Is Twitter dead/dying? I (don’t think) I will be paying to keep my verification (and I don’t see the immediate value of Twitter Blue). I have not had a great experience with Twitter over the years (this is a ‘market of one’ statement)… I don’t blame the platform/community, as much as where I chose to spend my time with my content choices. Still, it’s hard to believe that any of these recent moves are going to make Twitter better. With that, these types of headlines are created to grab attention, and often are not reflective of what is actually happening. Still, everything at Twitter feels quite ‘weird’ these days…” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

Fear Of An AI Planet

Pausing artificial intelligence development is a big mistake.

Mitch Joel · Fear Of An AI Planet – The Elias Makos Show – CJAD 800 AM – March 29th, 2023

An “open letter” from a group called, Future of Life Institute, is calling for a six month pause on developing anything more powerful than GPT-4.
This open letter has been signed by many tech luminaries like Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, Yoshua Bengio, Yuval Noah Harari, and over 1200 others.
Their macro perspective is that AI systems with human-competitive intelligence pose profound risks to society and humanity.
Their concerns, which should not be minimized and are not unfounded, include everything from the need for better planning, concerns over job automation to non-human minds outsmarting humans, loss of control over the tech, and the need for oversight and regulation.

What do they, ultimately, want?

Their goal is to enjoy a flourishing future with AI by responsibly reaping its benefits and allowing society to adapt.

But… and there’s always a “but”…

Global competition. A six-month pause on AI development might not be followed uniformly across the world. Some countries or organizations might continue their research, potentially gaining a competitive advantage, which could lead to uneven distribution of AI technology and knowledge. For referance, read the work of Kai-Fu Lee. Do not assume that countries like China won’t be the AI super-power of the world (and use this moment to race ahead).It’s a silly timeframe. Asking for six months reminds me of, “two weeks to flatten the curve.” What could possibly be accomplished in six months? Just look at the current debates over regulation and legislation for social media. This will take years (decades), not months… and we don’t even know what we’re solving for yet.Let’s not underestimate humans. My biggest issue with this moratorium is that we always underestimate the ability of humans to adapt to the opportunities (and challenges) brought on by any technology (and this includes AI). Throughout history, humans have adapted to various technological advancements (the wheel, fire, printing press, computers, etc.), and society will find ways to navigate the challenges posed by AI, without stopping the development of the technology.

A better way forward.

Instead, let’s put the media hype aside. Let’s also put aside that many of the people who have signed this letter are also in direct competition with OpenAI (and may not be experiencing the same level of success/commercial acceptance) or have divested in AI (and may have some regrets) or have invested in AI (but with companies that may be in direct competition with the developers of GPT-4). Instead of pausing AI development (for some of the reasons above, but there are many more), it might be more effective to promote (and push for) collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders to develop robust safety measures, ethical guidelines, and responsible AI practices. This approach allows for the continued advancement of AI technology, while simultaneously addressing the concerns and risks that are very real.

I’m not sure about what our future with AI holds, but it is our future.

So, we can stick our collective heads in the sand, or face the inevitable.

Do you think that we should pause all AI development?

This is what Elias Makos and I discussed on CJAD 800 AM this week. Listen in right here.

Before you go… ThinkersOne is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.