Letter to Whomever is in Charge

This is an urgent letter to whomever is responsible for planning our regulatory future regarding AI. I do not believe we are progressing fast enough, and I will explain why.

What I need you to understand:

• AI will change the world in ways most people can’t imagine.

• It’s happening within the next couple of years, not decades.

• We do not have a framework for taxation to cover living expenses for people who will find themselves out of a job.

• We do not have the global joint mindset we need to stand united.

• The primary criteria for the people who will work with legislation around AI must be imagination.

Recently, a paper was published by a former OpenAI employee, Leopold Aschenbrenner, where he explains the evolution of AI and how quickly things are moving behind the scenes.

It’s a fantastic read, where basically everything you have ever seen/heard/read about AI in sci-fi is about to come true. The problem is that it’s moving so fast that the human brain can’t fathom the leaps we are taking. We are entering a completely new era, and we will see major changes to our society because of it over the coming years, not the coming decades.

In his paper “Situational Awareness: The Decade Ahead,” Aschenbrenner provides a detailed description of what the exponential growth of superintelligence might do to our society. Everything is, of course, speculation and guesswork, and maybe that’s why regulatory work is moving so slowly, because we can’t say with certainty what will happen to our society as AI evolves. But what is 100% certain is that change is coming over the next couple of years, and it’s going to shake us to our core.

My biggest concern is that millions of people are going to become unemployed over the next decade and end up in poverty unless we plan for that possibility.

If we allow companies to replace workers with both AI and robots, we will see a boom in productivity. However, the profits will, for the first time in history, not be split between employer and employee. All the profits will go to the shareholders of the company.

I am in favor of capitalism. I think free markets are the only way everyone can prosper from innovation, higher productivity, and enjoy a higher living standard. But we have come to the end of capitalism in its pure form. If businesses no longer need workers, everyone owning shares in those companies will prosper while the rest will be destitute, doomed to live out their lives in poverty. This is just my take; I hope I am wrong. Better yet, I hope we never have to find out, that we take action today so that we can look forward to tomorrow without worry.

What we need to do is simple yet incredibly hard and unlikely:

If a company replaces workers with programs and machines, those programs and machines will have to be taxed enough to cover some form of universal income for the workers who no longer have any way to earn a living, but not so much that there is no upside to replacing the worker with AI.

In my opinion, we are extremely lucky to be alive right now. We are about to see changes over the coming decades like never before in history. We are about to go through immense changes as a species.

If you want to put a stop to it, I think you are too late. But if you want to try, your best bet would be to legislate in a manner that removes any incentives for companies to use AI. This would slow down the evolution of AI and the rapid growth in profits and living standards that is coming. But why would you want to do that?

Imagine what we will be able to achieve in terms of quality of life for everyone if we can evolve hundreds, if not thousands, of years in a century. No more hunger, no more disease. Longer life spans with a higher quality of life.

What could happen if all countries on the planet do not agree on how to switch to universal income?

The first country to impose an AI tax on companies using AI and robots would face significant challenges. Companies would likely move their operations to countries without such a tax. This would result in rising unemployment rates and declining tax revenues. While the companies might initially fare well, they would eventually struggle due to the lack of affluent customers, as widespread unemployment reduces consumer spending. This situation could lead to a downward economic spiral.

Why is the primary criterion for someone who is going to work on these questions to have imagination?

Because you are going to create rules for a future that doesn’t yet exist, it will likely not become the way you imagine it, and the biggest mistake you can make would be to extrapolate from what is to figure out what the world will look like in the future. They will have very little in common.

I want to leave you with this thought: It's better to act quickly and adjust as needed, rather than waiting and risking being too late. We don't want a repeat of the prolonged discussions about self-driving cars. While debates over report details like font choices dragged on, the technology itself was perfected. If we take just as long to address AI advancements, it's highly likely our cars will be smarter than us by the time we receive the email saying we are no longer needed at work.

I urge you to consider the implications of these rapid advancements in AI and take proactive steps to ensure a balanced, prosperous future for all. The time to act is now, not when it’s too late. Let us work together to create a framework that embraces innovation while safeguarding our society.

Thank you for your attention and commitment to this critical issue.

Sincerely,
Joakim Paurell

Contact information:

www.worryfreewealth.co.uk

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joakim-paurell/

“Situational Awareness; The Decade Ahead by Leopold Aschenbrenner” can be found here: Link to paper: chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/https://situational-awareness.ai/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/situationalawareness.pdf?ref=forourposterity.com

Webpage: situational-awareness.ai