Warning

Learn to handle the risks associated with using your tools - also the digital tools

By Mikkel Navarro Hansen, CEO Aprendio

Warning: this post has been created purely by human intelligence (or maybe the lack of same). Without any autocorrection, translation tools, any bot-interference - just purely a head to hand-exercise, and I don't really know which direction it will take.

There is no doubt that AI in a matter has become mainstream. I remember that laymen would still discuss what the difference between machine learning, deep learning and artificial intelligence could be - without really having tried consiously interacting with any of the technologies. But something happened. Now I have the sense that almost every person in the world has been in deep conversations with ChatGPT (why this name?) about anything from school assignments, how to handle personal problems, how to solve the climate crisis - or simply just as a way to have an entertaining and interesting conversation with somebody who actually reflects and responds to what you are saying (or writing).

Admitting I have services at my hand assisting to translate courses to whatever language I could imagine (maybe expect the Danish dialect from Langeland where I grew up) and I can click on a small button and then from a bullet point list I have a full description of course content for advertisement purposes.

But I personally think it is also in place to make some considerations before you start using a new tool. Our son - pictured - gets introduced to a load of new tools in his kindergarten. As a parent how would you expect the kindergarten to handle this?

a)     Let the tools floating around for the kids to play with whenever they feel for it?

b)    Introduce the tools, help them use the tools to solve a specific problem, monitor them, give them feedback, explain what could go wrong, discuss new ways of using the tools together with the children

Digital tools seem unharming, they seem easy to use and approachable. But digital tools can also hurt, their use can also have impact on our work, lives and society.

There is no doubt I appreciate option (b) above. And I think we should treat new tools with curiosity, respect but also a little distrust. For most of us AI is a black box. You put something in - something comes out. I don't know the artificial thought processes behind the scenes. I don't know if the output is filled with subtle predjudices towards certain values that might align with my own.

And to take a bigger perspective. What happens to the value of something if it available in abundance? With the introduction of strong search engines like google access to information wsa set free. in principle anyone could get any information. Cost of access to information dropped. With "intelligence" being more or less freely available. Will the value of intelligence also drop to zero?

Specifically, I am curious about what this means for the area of learning that we are working with here at Aprendio. How will we avoid the pitfalls when using AI? How will we learn what a beauty - or beast - that has been created and how to manage it, so that we as humans ensure we have the upper hand.

I love technology. But here I will step cautiously forward and take the liberty to be old school and work AI-free as stated in the declaration in the beginning of this blog.