AI today reminds me of two big tech revolutions we have already lived through: the Internet in the 90s and social media in the 2000s.

When the Internet arrived, it opened up the floodgates of information. Suddenly any Joe Six Pack could publish. Truth and noise sat side by side, and most people could not tell the difference, nor did they care to tell the difference.

When social media arrived, it gave every Joe Six Pack a megaphone. That meant experts and thoughtful people had new reach but so did the loudest, least informed voices. The result? An army of Joe Six Packs who would never have been heard before now had a platform, and they shaped public discourse in ways we are still trying to recover.

AI is following the same pattern.

The main problem is that the megaphone dynamically adjusts its volume based on how much “engagement” is being generated by what it’s broadcasting, encouraging inflammatory content. This can be weaponized by commercial or state-sponsored actors.

> When the Internet arrived, it opened up the floodgates of information.

But initially is was non commercial and good. Not perfect, but much more interesting than today. What changed is advertising and competition for scarce attention. Competition for attention filled the web with slop and clickbait.

> When social media arrived, it gave every Joe Six Pack a megaphone.

And also made everyone feel the need to pose, broadcast their ideology and show their in-group adherence publicly. There is peer pressure to conform to in-group norms and shaming or cancelling otherwise.

And don't forget actual knowledgeable people tend to be busy with actual knowledgeable stuff, while someone whose entire day consists of ranting about vaccines online has nothing better to do.