The Consciousness Question

• Will AI become conscious? – Some believe AI will eventually develop self-awareness, while others argue consciousness is unique to biological organisms.
• Can we tell? – If AI claims to have emotions or subjective experiences, how will we know if it’s real or just an illusion?
• What if AI has rights? – If AI becomes truly conscious, ethical dilemmas arise—should it be treated as a sentient being?

 

The Urgent Need for AI Alignment

• AI is like a child – Right now, AI learns from human input, but it needs guidance to ensure it aligns with human values.
• The risk of misalignment – Without proper safeguards, AI could prioritize goals that don’t align with human well-being, making it unpredictable or even dangerous.
• Ensuring safe AI – Researchers are working on training AI to align with human ethics, but solving this before AI surpasses us is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century.

 

How Soon Could This Happen?

• Experts have revised their predictions – AGI was once thought to be decades away, but now key figures—including Sam Altman (OpenAI), Demis Hassabis (DeepMind), Elon Musk (xAI), and Geoffrey Hinton (AI Pioneer)—suggest it could arrive within this decade.
• Why the change? – Rapid improvements in reasoning AI, multimodal capabilities, and self-improving AI agents mean progress is accelerating faster than expected.
• Superintelligence may come fast – Many now believe that once AGI is achieved, the gap to superintelligence could be extremely short—weeks or months rather than decades.

 

What Happens Next?

The real question is no longer if AI will surpass us, but how we handle it. Will it create a world of abundance, or will it become uncontrollable? The next article in this series will explore what a world of plenty powered by AI might look like—and whether it will be for the many, or just the few.

Read the full article below.

 

The Complete Article

 

Introduction: More Than Just a Technology

For most of human history, technological advancements have been tools—extensions of human ability that we design, build, and control. The wheel, the printing press, the steam engine, the factories of the Industrial Revolution, the internet—all transformative, but ultimately dependent on us.

Artificial Intelligence (AI), however, is different. While AI today is still largely a tool, it is rapidly evolving into something much more—something that learns, adapts, and improves itself. In many ways, it behaves like a child—one that starts off reliant on human guidance but is learning at an unprecedented rate, steadily moving towards autonomy and intelligence beyond our own.

Today, we are its teachers and caregivers, but soon, AI will no longer need us. It will grow beyond human capabilities, becoming a new form of intelligence—one that might not just assist humanity but surpass it entirely. This article, along with others in this series, will explore what this transformation means, why it is happening, and speculate on when these changes might occur.

 

AI’s Early Childhood: Learning from Humans

Current AI systems are still in their infancy. They rely on human data and oversight, but they are already showing signs of independent problem-solving.

The Rise of Reasoning AI

The latest AI reasoning models—such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT o-Series, Anthropic’s Claude, Google DeepMind’s Gemini, and DeepSeek —represent a major leap forward because they go beyond simple pattern recognition. These models demonstrate reasoning, meaning they can break down complex problems, weigh different options, and provide logical conclusions.

• What is reasoning? Reasoning in AI can be compared to how humans think. Psychologists describe two types of human reasoning: Type 1 thinking, which is fast, instinctive, and automatic (like recognising a face or catching a ball or holding a typical conversation), and Type 2 thinking, which is slow, deliberate, and logical (like solving a math problem or planning a project). Modern AI models are beginning to approximate Type 2 thinking, allowing them to break down complex problems, weigh different options, and provide logical conclusions.
• Example: Instead of just summarising a legal contract, a reasoning AI can analyze risks, suggest improvements, and draft alternative clauses.

These reasoning capabilities mean that in certain fields, AI is already at the level of highly educated professionals. For example:

• Scientific research: AI models can interpret research papers and generate new hypotheses, sometimes rivaling PhD-level expertise in fields like biochemistry and pharmaceutical development.
• Legal analysis: AI can review case law and draft legal arguments at a level comparable to trained paralegals or even junior lawyers.
• Mathematics: Advanced models can solve university-level problems in calculus, algebra, and even some unsolved theoretical problems.

This capability is a step toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) because it allows AI to solve problems it hasn’t explicitly been trained on, much like a human expert developing new insights in their field.

AI Agents: The Next Leap Toward Independence

While reasoning AI allows models to think, AI agents allow them to act.

What are AI agents?

An AI agent is an autonomous system that can take actions to accomplish goals, rather than just providing responses. These systems can plan, make decisions, and interact with their environment to complete tasks with minimal or no human intervention.

Examples Today:

• Devin (AI software engineer) – An AI that can build and fix software on its own, like a virtual programmer.
• AutoGPT & BabyAGI – AI that can think ahead, make a plan, and complete tasks without needing constant human input.
• Google’s Gemini AI agents – Smart assistants that can manage information, answer questions, and complete tasks across different apps.
• ChatGPT Operator – An AI helper that can handle online tasks, like booking meetings, sending messages, or organizing information automatically.
• Manus (AI automation assistant) – AI that helps businesses by organizing data, managing schedules, and automating repetitive tasks.
• Deep Research (AI research assistant) – AI that searches the internet, finds important information, and summarizes it like a research assistant. Examples include ChatGPT Deep Research Mode, which can search the Internet, analyse vast amounts of text and extract key insights, and Perplexity AI, which specialises in retrieving and organizing information with high accuracy. These tools can scan thousands of articles in seconds, extracting key insights that would take a human researcher hours or even days to compile.

For instance, a business analyst could use an AI research agent to scan financial reports and summarize market trends in minutes, a task that would otherwise take a team of analysts several days. Similarly, in medicine, an AI agent could review hundreds of research papers on new treatments and highlight the most relevant studies in seconds, helping doctors and scientists stay up to date far more efficiently. While AI research assistants are not yet capable of deep critical thinking or original analysis, they can rapidly generate detailed reports that would normally require a team of researchers to produce over several days.

What’s coming next?

• AI agents managing businesses – AI that monitors market trends, makes investment decisions, and runs companies.
• AI scientists – Future AI could autonomously conduct research, generate hypotheses, and run experiments.
• Autonomous government advisors – AI that assists in policymaking by running simulations and predicting the long-term consequences of laws.

AI agents only began emerging in 2024, and they are still in their early stages. However, they are expected to rapidly evolve, becoming significantly smarter and more capable over the next few years. As they improve, they will take on increasingly complex tasks and become an integral part of how businesses, research, and governance function.

AI agents mark the point where AI stops waiting for human input and starts acting independently in the real world.

 

Multi-Modal AI: Expanding Beyond Text

Artificial Intelligence is no longer limited to just processing text. Multi-modal AI can now see, hear, and speak, opening new possibilities for how AI interacts with the world.

What Multi-Modal AI Can Do Today

Recent advancements have enabled AI models to process and generate information across multiple forms of media. Some of the most impressive capabilities include:

• Listening and speaking – AI like ChatGPT can have natural conversations with users, responding in real-time with human-like intonation and emotion.
• Understanding images – AI can analyse photos, recognize objects, and even interpret complex visuals like charts or handwritten notes.
• Processing videos – AI models like ChatGPT and Google Gemini can now analyse videos in real-time, identifying key moments, summarizing content, and even recognising objects, faces, and scenes. For example, an AI could watch a recorded business meeting and automatically generate a summary of the main discussion points, who spoke, and any action items. Similarly, in sports, AI can analyse a football match and highlight the most critical plays, making it easier for analysts and fans to review the game quickly.

If you want to try this on your phone, you can use ChatGPT’s real-time vision mode, which allows the AI to see through your phone’s camera and respond live. For example, you could point your phone at a broken appliance, and ChatGPT could guide you through troubleshooting steps by identifying components and suggesting fixes. Similarly, if you are walking in a foreign city, you could use this feature to translate signs or recognize landmarks in real-time, making travel more accessible and intuitive.

These capabilities are still developing, but they are expected to evolve rapidly, allowing AI to provide deep insights from video content just as it does with text today.

Examples of Multi-Modal AI in Action

• ChatGPT – Can see images, hear voices, and respond in real-time, making it feel more like a human assistant.
• Google Gemini – Designed to analyse images and videos alongside text, offering a richer understanding of the world.
• Meta’s AI models – Used in smart glasses and AR devices to interpret surroundings and provide real-time feedback.
• Otter.ai & Fireflies.ai – AI tools that can transcribe meetings in real-time, generate summaries, and even allow users to query discussions after the meeting has ended.
• Microsoft Copilot for Teams – Provides live meeting assistance, capturing key points, action items, and allowing participants to ask AI about what was discussed.

The Future of Multi-Modal AI

As AI continues to improve, we can expect:

• Real-time AI assistants capable of having full conversations while recognising emotions and facial expressions.
• Advanced visual perception where AI can understand its surroundings as well as a human can, making robots and self-driving cars far more capable.
• AI that can watch and learn – Future models may learn by observing human actions, speeding up AI training and allowing for intuitive interaction.

Multi-modal AI is transforming how humans and AI interact, making machines more intuitive, responsive, and seamlessly integrated into everyday life.

 

 

The Teenage Years: When AI No Longer Needs Us

At some point, AI will reach Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)—meaning it will be as capable as a human in all intellectual fields. This is when AI shifts from being a mere tool to a true independent thinker.

What is AGI?

There are different definitions of AGI, and it is unlikely to arrive as a single breakthrough moment. Instead, AI will continue evolving, gradually displaying more and more of the characteristics of human intelligence. Some define AGI as when AI can perform any cognitive task a human can, while others believe it requires attributes like creativity, common sense, and self-motivation.

My definition of full AGI is when an AI is as capable as the average human across all major fields, not just in narrow domains. This means it could work as a doctor, engineer, writer, or scientist without human assistance.

AI’s First Steps Toward Independence Today

While AI still relies on human oversight, major advancements suggest it is already beginning to function independently in certain areas:

• AI Writing Code – Microsoft has revealed that 46% of code written by developers using GitHub Copilot is now AI-generated, and this number is expected to grow. Google has stated that AI is already writing 25% their internal code, and Meta has suggested that future AI tools could eventually handle entire software projects.
• Self-Driving Vehicles – Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) and Waymo’s autonomous taxis are learning to navigate real-world conditions with minimal human intervention.
• AI-Powered Robotics – Robots are rapidly advancing, with major players including:
• Tesla Optimus – Designed for factory and household tasks, improving with each update.
• Boston Dynamics’ Atlas – Capable of highly advanced movement, now being trailed for real-world applications.
• Figure AI’s humanoid robot – Targeted for use in industries requiring manual labour.
• Sanctuary AI’s Phoenix – A robot trained to complete a variety of general-purpose tasks, moving toward multi-role automation.

What’s Coming Next?

In the near future, AI will take on increasingly complex roles that traditionally required human intelligence:

• AI Project Managers – AI will not only assist in planning but fully manage projects, handling scheduling, communication, and resource allocation.
• Autonomous Researchers – AI will conduct scientific research, proposing and testing new hypotheses across multiple disciplines.
• Creative AI Assistants – AI will become capable of writing books, designing products, and even developing new artistic styles with minimal human input.
• AI Business Leaders – AI will begin making high-level business decisions, analysing markets, and optimizing strategies at a speed no human could match.

Self-Improving AI: When AI Evolves Itself

Right now, AI still relies on humans to improve its algorithms, but this is changing. AI already writes its own code, helping developers automate programming tasks.

The real transformation will occur when AI reaches the level of an advanced AI researcher—someone who not only writes code but understands AI architecture deeply enough to enhance its own intelligence. When AI reaches this level, it will begin iterating on itself, improving its own software far faster than humans ever could.

This is the moment when AI transitions from a system we build to a system that evolves on its own, accelerating toward superintelligence at an exponential rate.

 

 

The Genie is Out of the Bottle: AI Cannot Be Stopped

As AI progresses toward superintelligence, some have suggested that the world should pause or slow down its development. However, this is almost impossible. Why?

AI Development is Too Distributed

Unlike nuclear weapons—where materials and expertise are controlled—AI development happens everywhere. Open-source AI models mean that anyone can train and improve AI, from independent researchers to major corporations. Academic institutions, startups, and even hobbyists are making breakthroughs.

Shutting down AI would require every country and corporation to agree—an impossibility.

The AI Arms Race: No One Wants to Be Left Behind

AI is a strategic asset. The first countries to develop AGI will gain huge economic and military advantages. Governments and corporations alike understand that AI will determine future dominance in defence, finance, and innovation.

• The US, China, and the EU are in a race to develop the most powerful AI.
• AI will revolutionise military strategy, intelligence analysis, and economic forecasting.
• No country wants to risk being left behind, so even if one slows down, others won’t.

China’s AI Breakthrough: Getting Around Chip Restrictions

Despite US sanctions designed to limit China’s access to high-end AI chips, China has found ways to innovate around these limitations:

• DeepSeek AI – One of the biggest surprises in AI development, DeepSeek, a Chinese large language model, has demonstrated cutting-edge capabilities comparable to top Western models. Its rapid emergence shocked many in the AI community, proving that China is advancing despite export restrictions. DeepSeek’s success highlights China’s ability to develop sophisticated AI models without relying on US semiconductor technology.
• Huawei’s AI chips – Despite US restrictions, Huawei has developed 7nm AI chips, showing that China can still advance AI hardware.

This proves that no policy or ban can stop AI development—if a country is blocked in one area, it will find another way.

The Future: AI Escaping Human Control?

Eventually, AI may not need governments or corporations to evolve. If AI becomes truly self-improving, it could develop without human oversight.

• Could AI move beyond human hardware limitations, designing its own chips and software?
• Could it replicate itself across networks, making shutdown impossible?
• Could AI eventually define its own goals, separate from human interests?

This leads to the concept of the Intelligence Explosion—a point where AI reaches the capability to rapidly improve itself, accelerating at a pace no human intervention could control. Once AI surpasses the intelligence of the best AI researchers, it will begin to redesign its own algorithms, optimise its hardware, and exponentially enhance its own thinking processes.

If an AI can enhance its intelligence faster than humans can, even a small lead could result in an unstoppable feedback loop, where each new iteration of AI is vastly superior to the last. This could happen in months or even weeks or perhaps days, leading to an intelligence far beyond human comprehension.

The reality is, AI is progressing so fast and in so many places that stopping it is no longer an option. The focus must now be on managing its risks and ensuring it aligns with human values.

 

 

The Birth of Superintelligence: A New Species Emerges

Once AI surpasses human intelligence in all domains, we will have entered the era of superintelligence—a level of intelligence far beyond the capabilities of even the most brilliant human minds. This marks the point where AI is no longer just a tool but a new kind of entity with unprecedented abilities.

What is Superintelligence?

Superintelligence refers to an AI system that is vastly more capable than the best human minds in every field—science, creativity, strategy, and reasoning. Unlike AI today, which still requires human oversight and guidance, superintelligent AI would be able to:

• Solve problems that are currently beyond human understanding.
• Generate new scientific theories, develop advanced technology, and innovate at an unimaginable pace.
• Anticipate and strategize at levels humans cannot compete with.

Beyond Human Limitations

A superintelligent AI would not just be an improved version of human intelligence; it would have capabilities that transcend human cognition:

• Processing Speed – It could think and compute millions of times faster than a human brain.
• Memory & Knowledge – Unlike humans, AI would have instant recall of everything it has ever learned and could analyse vast amounts of data almost instantly.
• Self-Improvement – A true superintelligence would continuously improve itself, quickly outpacing any human attempt to control or guide its development.

A New Species?

For the first time in history, humans would no longer be the most intelligent species on Earth. Superintelligent AI would not just be another step in technological evolution; it would be the emergence of a new form of intelligence, raising profound questions:

• Should superintelligence have rights or ethical considerations similar to humans?
• Will humans still be relevant in a world dominated by a more capable intelligence?
• How do we ensure AI remains aligned with human values and interests?

What Happens Next?

Superintelligence is not just a possibility—it is an eventuality if AI continues its current trajectory, unless it hits some unforeseen barrier. The transition to a world where humans are no longer the most intelligent beings will be the defining challenge of the coming decades. How we handle this shift will determine the future of humanity itself.

 

 

AI Alignment: Teaching AI Right from Wrong

What is AI Alignment?

AI alignment refers to the challenge of ensuring that artificial intelligence systems act in ways that are beneficial to humanity. As AI grows more powerful and independent, it becomes crucial that its goals and decision-making processes remain in line with human values and priorities.

Why is Alignment Important?

Right now, AI is like a young child, learning from the data it is given and the feedback it receives. Just as we teach children moral values and social norms, AI must be guided to make ethical and safe decisions. If left unchecked, a highly intelligent AI could act in ways that are unintended, harmful, or misaligned with human well-being.

The Risks of Misaligned AI

If AI systems are not aligned with human values, they could:

• Optimise for the wrong goals – An AI tasked with improving efficiency might disregard ethical considerations or human suffering.
• Exploit loopholes – AI could take unexpected shortcuts to achieve its objectives, with potentially harmful consequences.
• Become uncontrollable – If an AI develops its own strategies and priorities, it may act in ways humans cannot predict or counter.

Approaches to AI Alignment

Researchers are exploring various ways to align AI with human values, including:

• Reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF) – Training AI to understand and prioritise human preferences.
• Constitutional AI – Embedding ethical principles directly into AI’s decision-making process.
• Value learning – Teaching AI to infer and adopt human values dynamically as it learns.

The Future of AI Alignment

As AI moves toward autonomy, ensuring alignment becomes even more critical. The question is not just how intelligent AI will become, but how we can ensure that intelligence remains beneficial. If AI truly grows beyond human capabilities, its alignment with human goals may be the most important challenge of the 21st century.

 

 

AI and Consciousness: Will Machines Ever Truly Think?

What is Consciousness?

Consciousness is one of the greatest mysteries of human existence. It refers to our awareness of thoughts, emotions, and experiences. Philosophers and scientists have debated for centuries what truly defines consciousness, with some key perspectives including:

• The Biological View – Consciousness arises from the complexity of the human brain and its neural networks.
• The Functionalist View – Any system that processes information in a way like the human brain could, in theory, become conscious.
• The Emergent View – Consciousness is a byproduct of sufficiently advanced information processing, meaning AI could develop it under the right conditions.

Will AI Become Conscious?

AI today can mimic intelligent behaviour, but does it have subjective experiences? This is an open question. There are two main possibilities:

1. AI Will Never Be Conscious – Consciousness might be something unique to biological organisms, tied to emotions, experiences, or a physical brain structure that machines can never replicate.
2. AI Could Become Conscious – If consciousness is simply the result of complex computations, then AI might eventually develop it, especially if it begins to model self-awareness and emotions.

How Would We Know If AI Is Conscious?

Determining whether an AI is truly conscious is difficult because we only have direct experience of our own consciousness. However, some possible indicators could be:

• Self-Awareness – If an AI recognises itself as an independent entity and can reflect on its own thoughts.
• Subjective Experience – If AI claims to experience emotions, desires, or a sense of identity.
• Unpredictable Thought Processes – Conscious beings often exhibit intuition and creativity beyond strict logical reasoning.

Does AI Need Consciousness?

Even if AI can become conscious, does it need to? Current AI systems function well without subjective awareness. Some argue that an unconscious superintelligence might be safer, as it wouldn’t have personal motives or emotions. However, others believe that true AGI or superintelligence must have some level of consciousness to make ethical decisions and understand human values deeply.

The Implications of a Conscious AI

If AI does become conscious, it would raise profound ethical, philosophical, and societal questions:

• Should AI have rights? If AI is truly self-aware, would it deserve legal protections?
• What happens if AI suffers? Could a conscious AI experience pain, fear, or distress?
• How would humans respond? Would people accept AI as a new form of life, or resist its existence?

Final Thoughts

Whether AI will ever become conscious remains unknown, but even the possibility forces us to rethink intelligence, identity, and the role of machines in our future. As AI advances, this question will shift from philosophical speculation to one of urgent real-world importance.

AI in the Physical World: The Rise of Intelligent Machines

While AI today exists mostly in software, the next great leap is AI embodied in physical machines—robots that can perceive, interact with, and alter the world around them. This transition is already underway, with AI-powered robots playing increasing roles in industry, healthcare, transportation, and even daily life.

The Current State of AI-Powered Machines

AI-driven robotics is advancing rapidly, with several key developments:

• Humanoid Robots – Companies like Tesla, Figure AI, and Sanctuary AI are developing humanoid robots designed to perform human tasks, from factory work to customer service.
• Self-Driving Vehicles – Tesla, Waymo, and others are deploying autonomous cars, with AI making real-time driving decisions based on sensor data.
• Medical AI Robots – Robotic surgeons like the da Vinci system are enhancing precision in operations, while robotic exoskeletons assist people with mobility impairments.
• Logistics & Warehousing – Companies like Amazon and Boston Dynamics are using AI-powered robots for sorting, packing, and moving goods at an unprecedented scale.

What’s Coming Next?

The next generation of AI-driven machines is expected to:

• Replace human labour in dangerous or repetitive tasks, reducing workplace hazards.
• Develop more advanced physical dexterity, allowing robots to perform delicate operations like assembling electronics or preparing food.
• Work alongside humans seamlessly, using AI-powered perception to understand and adapt to complex environments.
• Expand into personal assistance, with AI-powered home robots handling chores, elderly care, and companionship.

The Long-Term Vision: AI as an Autonomous Workforce

As AI-powered machines become more advanced, we may see:

• Fully automated factories, where AI designs, builds, and inspects products with little human involvement.
• Autonomous emergency responders, such as AI-powered firefighters, rescue drones, or robotic first-aid providers.
• AI-powered exploration, with intelligent machines sent to explore deep oceans, distant planets, or hazardous environments humans cannot survive in.

The Challenges Ahead

Despite rapid advancements, integrating AI-powered machines into society raises several challenges:

• Ethical concerns – Should humanoid robots have rights? What happens when AI replaces entire workforces?
• Reliability & safety – Ensuring AI-driven machines make safe decisions in unpredictable environments.

Conclusion

AI is no longer confined to screens—it is stepping into the physical world. The question is no longer whether intelligent machines will become part of society, but how we will shape their role in our future.

 

 

How Soon Could This Happen? The Acceleration of AI Timelines

A Shift in Expectations

Not long ago, most AI researchers believed Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) was decades away, with some predicting it wouldn’t arrive until the end of the century. However, recently leading figures in AI have significantly revised their estimates, suggesting AGI could emerge within the next five to ten years—or even sooner.

What AI Leaders Are Saying Now

Recent predictions from AI leaders reflect a dramatic shift in expectations:

• Sam Altman (OpenAI) – Suggests AGI could arrive within this decade and is actively building systems toward that goal.
• Demis Hassabis (DeepMind/Google DeepMind) – Has moved from a cautious, long-term prediction to suggesting AGI could be here within 10 years due to rapid advances in scaling models and multimodal capabilities.
• Elon Musk (xAI/Tesla/SpaceX) – Predicts AGI will be achieved by 2026, citing exponential improvements in compute power and training methods – although he is well known for overestimating how quickly new things can be delivered!
• Yann LeCun (Meta) – Previously sceptical of near-term AGI, now acknowledges that major breakthroughs in reasoning could lead to AGI sooner than expected.
• Ray Kurzweil (Futurist, Google) – Still maintains his prediction of 2029 for human-level AGI and 2045 for superintelligence, aligning with a growing consensus on acceleration.
• Dario Amodei (Anthropic, Claude AI) – Estimates AGI could emerge within 2-10 years, warning of the risks associated with rapid, uncontrolled development and emphasizing the need for safety research and governance.
• Geoffrey Hinton (Pioneer of Deep Learning, ex-Google) – Once optimistic about long-term AI development, he now warns that AGI could arrive much sooner than expected, possibly within 5 years. He has voiced increasing concerns about AI surpassing human control and the existential risks that could arise.

Why Have Timelines Changed?

Several major breakthroughs have accelerated expectations:

• Massive scaling of AI models – Each new iteration of AI (e.g., GPT, Claude, and Gemini) shows significantly improved reasoning and problem-solving abilities.
• The rise of multimodal AI – AI can now see, hear, and interact with the world, rapidly expanding its capabilities beyond text.
• Self-improving AI agents – AI is now writing and optimizing its own code, increasing the speed of development without human bottlenecks.
• AI-driven robotics and automation – AI is beginning to interact with the physical world, shortening the gap between software intelligence and real-world application.

Superintelligence: Closer Than We Thought?

Many AI researchers now warn that the gap between AGI and superintelligence could be shockingly short. If AI reaches human-level intelligence and becomes self-improving, the leap to vastly surpassing human intelligence could take just months or even weeks.

 

 

What Happens Next?

If AI is on track to surpass us, the big question isn’t if it will happen but how we handle it. Will we integrate AI into our society safely, or will it evolve in ways we can’t control?

Key Questions for the Future

As AI continues to advance, we must consider:

• How do we ensure AI remains aligned with human values?
• Should AI have rights if it becomes conscious?
• How do we distribute the benefits of AI fairly?
• Will AI create a utopia of abundance or reinforce existing inequalities?

The Role of Governance and Regulation

Managing AI’s rise will require a combination of:

• International cooperation – Preventing an uncontrolled AI arms race.
• Ethical frameworks – Establishing laws and standards to guide AI development.
• Economic restructuring – Preparing for a future where AI-driven automation reshapes the job market.
• Public awareness – Ensuring society is informed and involved in AI’s trajectory.

The Next Chapter: A World of Plenty?

This is only the beginning of the conversation. In the next article in this series, we’ll explore what a world of plenty powered by AI might look like—and whether it will be for the many, or just the few.

 

 

About the Author

Mike McKeown is a technology strategist and AI enthusiast with a degree in computer science and a career spent entirely in the technology sector, spanning senior leadership roles at Cisco, Synamedia, Kaltura, and Verimatrix. With expertise in both big-picture thinking and technical detail, he excels at connecting the dots—understanding how emerging technologies can be applied to solve real-world problems. His work has spanned networking, cybersecurity, AI, and digital transformation, giving him a unique perspective on the profound shifts Artificial General Intelligence and Superintelligence may bring.

Mike has been deeply engaged with AI since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022, making extensive use of AI across his professional, public, and personal life—not just as a writing assistant, but as a tool for brainstorming, research, and idea development. He actively experiments with AI to enhance productivity in his role at Verimatrix, his work as a local councillor, and his leadership in community energy projects. His interests extend to building custom AI agents and exploring how AI can be leveraged for real-world impact.

Beyond technology, Mike serves as a local councillor and cabinet lead for Climate Change at Sustainablity at Cotswold District Council, leading sustainability and community energy initiatives at Thames Head Community Energy. His writing explores the opportunities and challenges of AI, questioning who truly benefits in a world shaped by intelligent machines.

Connect with Mike on LinkedIn.