Sinéad Bovell

We should be preparing kids for life, not jobs. The reality is most of the jobs young kids in school today see will be radically transformed by technology. Instead, we need to set kids up to thrive in a dynamic future underscored by advanced technologies. That means fostering adaptability, critical thinking, (among many other skills!) and the ability to build and shape the technologies around them. No matter how the workforce evolves, or how life unfolds, they’ll be ready to navigate change and seize new opportunities. (This is not an exhaustive list of skills. There are several other examples of skills I’ve shared in previous posts and in lectures). I got the opportunity to give a talk at @sxsw to over 1000 educators on AI and the future of education. The talk was credited as a course for teachers. Thank you for having me @sxswedu

The only version of the future that is acceptable is the one with zero violence against women and girls. On the international day for the elimination of violence against women, it was an incredible honor to deliver a keynote at the United Nations General Assembly on the impact of AI systems and emerging technologies on women and girls. From non-consensual deepfake images, to medical AI systems trained on historical datasets that excluded women entirely, to the disproportionate abuse women face in online spaces, the challenges are vast. But so too are the solutions. Gender-based violence, in all its forms, is preventable. It’s not a lack of solutions we face but the will and conviction to choose them. @spotlightinitiative @unitednations

Surreal 🥹 A clip from my interview today on @cnn @cnnthismorning with @donlemoncnn and @kaitlancollins on AI-generated imagery and what the technology means for our future. Referencing the AI-generated images of the Pope in fashionable jackets that went viral this weekend. Unfortunately there isn’t a single switch we can pull to fully safeguard against the risks deepfakes and AI-generated content present. But we can minimize some of the harm through policy, education, new roles (AI fact checkers) and more preparedness. More clips to come:)

AI right now is like the internet in 1993. We are at the very beginning

The Velvet Sundown controversy is a glimpse into the post-reality era. Beyond the post-truth debates about facts or the filter bubbles that kept us in separate worlds. Post-reality is where experiences may be real to some but not others. In some instances it may not be as big of a deal. But there are genuine issues that society needs to form consensus around and a post-reality world will make that consensus more challenging (than it already is!)

The Great Cognitive Divide. Some may be quick to make the assumption that the best path forward is unsubscribing from AI altogether. It is not. Those who learn to strengthen their thinking with AI will outpace those who don’t. Sometimes that means using the model to stress-test assumptions, deepen analysis and raise the bar on what you can bring to the table. Other times it means depending entirely on your own mental horsepower. In the age of supercomputers we need to create new forms of cognitive friction. My latest 📝. Link in <bio>

In an era of rapidly evolving technology, we need to decouple jobs from identity. The workforce today’s students will enter will be unrecognizable. But perhaps more importantly, we shrink dreams into job descriptions. Kids don’t think in terms of jobs. We bring that to them. We ask them what they want to be, but we don’t ask them who they want to be at all.

This is the real Black Mirror episode we are living in.

AI threatened to blackmail its creators. Another chose “kill the human” in the simulation. They’re not alive. They don’t have desires. But they can still produce “deceptive” or “manipulative” strategies… And it can still cause harm. It’s a mix of how we train them (to optimize for goals) and what we train them on (massive datasets full of human behavior).

Summer in the city 🙌🏽🙌🏽☀️☀️ 🌆

Governments will play a defining role in whether the transition to the AI age is equitable and successful. Protecting the public during times of disruption should be nonnegotiable. And disruption is coming, especially to the workforce. In countries where health insurance is tied to employment, that model becomes a clear vulnerability. If people lose their jobs to automation and with it their access to care, the consequences will be severe. But this is foreseeable and therefore preventable. These conversations and policies need to happen now. This doesn’t absolve tech companies of their responsibilities. But governments have a mandate to serve the public interest. That responsibility can’t be outsourced.

The Apple hint everyone missed! Apple is betting on what’s next and training us for it.