There are those who think that AI is only software. After all, we can reduce AI to a basic Turing machine, digital ones and zeros. There is nothing new here, nothing to be concerned about, so just move on.
There are others who believe that AI is the greatest innovation we have seen. It will answer all our questions, help us cure cancer, solve poverty, climate change, and all other existential threats facing humanity. AI will save us, perhaps, even from ourselves.
And there are still others who believe AI is the existential threat that will end us and the world as we know it.
This narrative, this story, is not new. It is as old as humanity. We create technology to master our environment, only to discover that one day it takes on a life of its own to master us.
And this is when the hero of the story comes in.
The hero fights against the out-of-control technology to restore the world back into balance, before the chaos. However, the past is closed, and the path back is no longer possible. The hero must now take the path forward. Our hero must fight the dragon, rescue the princess, and create a new life happily ever after.
Coincidentally (or not), this follows the technology hype curve that many of us are very familiar with (heightened expectations, trough of disillusionment, slope of enlightenment, and plateau of productivity).
What character are we playing in the AI story and where are we on the map of AI Middle Earth?
Are we the creators of this new technology promising untold power not unlike the Rings of Power from Tolkien’s books, “The Lord of the Rings?”
Will we be able to control the rings, or fall to its temptations?
Who will keep back the evil of Mordor?
Who will fight the AI dragon of uncertainty?
Who will be the heroes we need?
Gandalf, the wise wizard from the Lord of the Rings, reminds us, “The World is not in your books and maps, It’s out there.” The real world is not in our AI models either.
It’s time for Engineers bound not by rings of power, but by a higher calling to rise up and take their place in the AI story. To help keep evil at bay, and to build a better tomorrow using AI.
We need them to help us overcome the mountain of expectations and endure the plateau of disillusionment to reach the plateau of productivity or better yet, the place where we find a flourishing and thriving humanity.
It’s time for Professional AI Engineers, more than technology experts, but engineers who are also courageous, competent, and trustworthy.
Engineers who are willing to fight the AI Dragon of Uncertainty.