Weekly Newsletter

Practical AI Strategies

AI and the Techlash

Hi everyone,

I'm sure you've noticed an uptick in articles recently which are not only anti-tech, but specifically anti-AI. For the past few years, I've been writing about the (many) ethical concerns of the AI industry: environmental concerns, bias, privacy, and more. But in recent months, there's been a new surge of mainstream media journalism about the technology.

A lot of it has been positioned around the "cognitive offload" topic, particularly in education. But what if it's not really about the technology?

Realistically, we still don't have enough evidence to definitively say what the impact of AI use is on the brain. If we're being honest, our understanding of brains in general isn't always as concrete as we might think. GenAI, in its current form, is only a few years old and constantly changing.

On the blog this week I argue that the new wave of anti-AI sentiment is part of the broader "techlash": the increasingly popular movement against screens, devices, platforms, and digital technology. It's part of a broader pushback after years of poor regulation and governance of the tech industry.

And maybe it's about time...

Next week I'll put out an official "call for ideas". This time of year, I always start planning new online courses and professional learning. Keep an eye out for a survey during the week, or reply to this email if you've got any topics you'd love to see covered on practicalaistrategies.com in the future.

Cheers,

Leon

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