Malcolm Gladwell's Take On Artificial Intelligence At The World Government Summit

Malcolm Gladwell, among accomplishments including being appointed to the Order of Canada, is the author of numerous New York Times best sellers such as Blink, Outliers and The Tipping Point. Gladwell is not only a journalist, author, public figure and speaker, he is also a staple in influencing and observing social sciences while leading the way for thousands of entrepreneurs to think critically regarding their business endeavors. I was invited to speak this year at the summit in Dubai and had an opportunity to talk with Gladwell about artificial intelligence, the future of technology and, of course, whether or not he was a dork in high school. As an entrepreneur, we often have a feeling of being different or separate from others and their way of thinking. So, of course, I wanted to hear that Gladwell felt that same way.

Artificial intelligence (AI) was the basis of discussion at the summit. Gladwell believes that deciding what the machines are good at and what the humans are good at while respecting both parties will serve as an essential leadership quality for the age of intelligence we are fast approaching. Although Gladwell does not believe in treating AI as a physical part of humanity, he indeed thinks that the consumer’s individuality is necessary, just like it has always been. He told me, “…that’s [individuality has] always been a crucial part of what it means to respect people’s humanity, and I hope we don’t lose sight of that as non-human elements play a larger role in our lives.”

I have been an advocate for individuality in my career. I believe that one person can make a difference, that you should take care of yourself before taking care of someone else, and that equality is only genuine if we accept people for their differences rather than force everyone to be the same. As Gladwell said, "Individuality is what it means to respect people's humanity."

Last year, a highly intelligent robot named Sophia became the first robot citizen, leaving Saudi women with fewer rights than a white, female machine. This is an example of how crucial it is to create artificial intelligence as a tool for growth instead of an ingredient for the further decay of equality and individuality. Gladwell said, “The trick to interacting with machines is to remember that they are machines. And we are a fundamentally different thing. They think differently than us and they are not a version of us. They are a wholly different tool that is there to serve us, not the other way around.”

When I started my career, I worked for the first-ever livestreaming social media website. There was a huge disconnect between the first users and the live content. They treated it as television of sorts and didn't connect that it was live and it was real. Of course, now, we all understand that if someone is injured live, they are injured in real life. We could very soon interact with robots as if they're humans and we could very easily give up our rights in defense of theirs. We might have to resort to reverse technology to store information -- a world where writing things on paper and filing them away becomes the safer option. I suggest not putting human faces on machines.

Malcolm Gladwell, among accomplishments including being appointed to the Order of Canada, is the author of numerous New York Times best sellers such as Blink, Outliers and The Tipping Point. Gladwell is not only a journalist, author, public figure and speaker, he is also a staple in influencing and observing social sciences while leading the way for thousands of entrepreneurs to think critically regarding their business endeavors. I was invited to speak this year at the summit in Dubai and had an opportunity to talk with Gladwell about artificial intelligence, the future of technology and, of course, whether or not he was a dork in high school. As an entrepreneur, we often have a feeling of being different or separate from others and their way of thinking. So, of course, I wanted to hear that Gladwell felt that same way.

Artificial intelligence (AI) was the basis of discussion at the summit. Gladwell believes that deciding what the machines are good at and what the humans are good at while respecting both parties will serve as an essential leadership quality for the age of intelligence we are fast approaching. Although Gladwell does not believe in treating AI as a physical part of humanity, he indeed thinks that the consumer’s individuality is necessary, just like it has always been. He told me, “…that’s [individuality has] always been a crucial part of what it means to respect people’s humanity, and I hope we don’t lose sight of that as non-human elements play a larger role in our lives.”

I have been an advocate for individuality in my career. I believe that one person can make a difference, that you should take care of yourself before taking care of someone else, and that equality is only genuine if we accept people for their differences rather than force everyone to be the same. As Gladwell said, "Individuality is what it means to respect people's humanity."

Last year, a highly intelligent robot named Sophia became the first robot citizen, leaving Saudi women with fewer rights than a white, female machine. This is an example of how crucial it is to create artificial intelligence as a tool for growth instead of an ingredient for the further decay of equality and individuality. Gladwell said, “The trick to interacting with machines is to remember that they are machines. And we are a fundamentally different thing. They think differently than us and they are not a version of us. They are a wholly different tool that is there to serve us, not the other way around.”

When I started my career, I worked for the first-ever livestreaming social media website. There was a huge disconnect between the first users and the live content. They treated it as television of sorts and didn't connect that it was live and it was real. Of course, now, we all understand that if someone is injured live, they are injured in real life. We could very soon interact with robots as if they're humans and we could very easily give up our rights in defense of theirs. We might have to resort to reverse technology to store information -- a world where writing things on paper and filing them away becomes the safer option. I suggest not putting human faces on machines.