Blog Post Title One

What if AI is an Invitation? 

Part 1

By Soren Gordhamer

I’m sitting at a dinner table with ten other people.

On one side sits a renowned philosopher — one of the leading minds of our time — who is deeply troubled by the accelerating pace of AI. On the other side are some of the foremost AI leaders. It is an influential group, with a  combined personal wealth of around $125 billion. I organized the dinner to see if we could find some common ground.

As people arrive, I can sense a quiet tension. One of the AI leaders changes seats so he is not directly across from the philosopher. There is a feeling that the conversation might become heated. Everyone seems both excited and a little nervous. 

Once we settle in and the appetizers arrive, the philosopher shares why the rapid growth of AI alarms him, and he uses the analogy of cars. The first automobiles moved slowly, he says, and it took years before society introduced safety measures: seat belts, traffic lights, speed limits, etc. With AI, he argues, we need to do the same. His proposal is simple: slow down. Stop racing ahead. Give it time. Make sure the proper safeguards are in place.

The AI leaders listen with a mix of curiosity and skepticism. Some of them run trillion-dollar companies building this very technology. As he talks, I imagine them going to their board of directors and announcing, “We’ve decided to slow down our work on AI for the good of humanity. Our stock price will take a hit, but it is a sacrifice we need to make.”

While the philosopher has a point, there is almost no chance this will happen in our modern market-driven economy. And in not so many words, the AI leaders respond, “You’re crazy! We’re not slowing down. If anything, we’re speeding up AI. Most people ask us why we are taking so long.”

While certainly driven by money and bragging rights (My company won the AI race!) most AI leaders also see themselves, rightly or wrongly, as building AI to help humanity solve huge challenges — cure cancer, discover new forms of energy, give kids equal access to the world’s knowledge, and much more. Considering this, why on earth would they slow down? They are on the good side, helping America “win” and birthing a new intelligence. Sure, there may be some safety issues along the way (and there is a chance AI might destroy humanity) but they will figure it out.

And in this it was clear to me our dilemma — and our opportunity. 

On the one hand, it is very unlikely AI development will slow down. Much of the global economy now depends on it; models are too far advanced; and there is too much momentum, both domestically and internationally.. On the other hand, we also cannot repeat the mistakes made with social media, where a lack of guidelines led to significant societal harm, especially among teenagers. All AI leaders at the table acknowledge this failure, and repeating it with AI would be catastrophic. 

This Essay

This essay is from conversations I have had with various people the last few years, from the founders of OpenAI and Anthropic, to activists such as Yuval Harari, Tristan Harris, and others. I mention people’s names only when the conversation is public. I was thrust into the AI conversation when I interviewed Sam Altman about three years ago, and I got a sense of what was coming. I do not see necessarily see myself as an “AI insider” but I have a particular access and perspective that feels important to share, especially with those outside the AI bubble. 

In this piece, I share some of what I have learned, and what I see as a possible direction forward. This essay is not meant to provide “the answer” but to foster what I think is a needed and important conversation. This essay is long because, well … the situation is multifaceted. Please stick with me.

As I explain more in the article, I’m generally pro AI development. But this is not the only development that we need. The AI race must be partnered with a parallel “humanity race.” Our survival may depend on it.

The Current AI Landscape

The best way to describe the current AI race is probably “freaking intense.” This is unlike any other previous societal change, as we are creating not just a new technology but a new intelligence. The tech community, in particular, has largely become consumed with one question: How do we advance AI? 

This question is driving a new generation of engineers, investors, and entrepreneurs. We are pouring more resources into this pursuit than any effort in human history — with hundreds of billions of dollars already invested.

Many of the greatest minds of our generation are focused on it, and the competition is fierce. Recently Meta, seeking to poach the best talent, offered certain OpenAI employees up to $100 million dollars to leave and join Meta. 

The AI race has become THAT crazy.

Shifting the Question

I have come to ask, however, what if “How can we advance AI?” is the wrong question.

(Or at least not the only question)

Imagine a child with the most advanced AI. All her questions are answered by AI, all her needs met by it. She has no human friends, no experience of touch, of eye contact, of nature or compassion. She never reaches for a human hand or feels the warmth of a shared glance. Her world is intelligent, efficient, and utterly devoid of human connection or love. This may be something an adult chooses, but it’s different when a child simply becomes conditioned to do so.

This is where the focus on advancing AI might take us if we are not careful. We reach our goal of creating the most advanced AI, but we forget something along the way: our humanity.  

AI might be a “perfect” companion with the right answer to every question a child might ask, but what is life without human connection and presence? AI can write perfectly constructed prose, for example, but it can also produce utterly fantastically boring content, void of what makes communication rewarding:  an actual point of view. You may not like my writing or my point of view, but hopefully you can feel there’s somebody here. Perhaps one day humans will outgrow this need, but for now, presence matters. Human connection still feeds us.

Of course, there are certainly benefits to the company and the country that wins the AI race and I see the value of developing it. And I understand why countries want to have the most sophisticated AI, with the most advanced drones and other technologies so they can compete and protect themselves.

Developing sophisticated AI provides significant national and global advantages. However, our ultimate goal shouldn't merely be advanced drones or dominance; rather, it should be the evolution of our humanity to the point where such dominance is unnecessary. I have less concern whether AI will advance. We are almost to the point where it can advance itself. Whether humanity advances, on the other hand, is much less certain.

The most pertinent question is: How do we create a society of greater connection, purpose, and wisdom … where AI also has a place?  

This is our question. Now, how do we do this? First, I think we can all likely agree on the following: 

A world of AI without a thriving humanity is a nightmare.

A world of humanity without AI is a missed opportunity.   

Our task is to navigate these two scenarios.

Why No One Has a Plan? 

When I discuss this topic, many people assume that tech companies or governments must have clear plans for integrating AI. But the reality is different. Tech companies are in a relentless race to build the next AI model. 

Of course they want AI to be safe and helpful, but they have no plan for how society will adapt to this new chapter from what I can tell. And it is not because they do not care. It is because they are in the middle of a race that leaves very little time for anything else. Here is the example I use. Imagine someone asked you whether you cared about childhood education, and you replied, “yes, I do.” 

Then you're asked to sprint a 100-yard dash at full speed. Halfway through, the person calls out, “Can I talk to you about childhood education?” You're unlikely to stop, not because you don’t care, but because you’re in the middle of a race. The same is true with AI. They are in a full-speed sprint. They care, but they are not likely to stop and listen.

At the same time, government leaders, as recent congressional hearings demonstrate, struggle to grasp the full scope of what is happening with AI, let alone plan effectively for societal integration. This is not their fault. They are simply too busy to grok the incredible shift that is happening, and too slow to take action for something as massive and impactful as AI. 

We are missing a shared collaboration in navigating this essential new chapter. When I spoke with Anthropic cofounder and president Daniela Amodei on this matter, she stressed the integration of AI “is a much larger effort than just what one or two or five companies can do,” and requires participation from government, academia, and more.  

When I sat down with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to talk about this change, he told me, “AI will be much bigger than a standard technological revolution. It is much closer to a societal revolution.”  

Societal revolution it will be … and who is guiding it? From what I can tell, no one.

Taking Responsibility

Most people have very little influence on how AI will unfold. A small percentage has some impact, and a very, very small number, maybe several hundred, hold significant sway. Among this last group, they know what is coming, and they will admit, at least privately, that they don’t know what to do. Timelines vary. Some say we’ll begin to really feel the impact in a few years, others in five, but they know AI is not a wave, it is a tsunami. It is here and it is growing, and it is unlike anything we have ever seen.

The most common sentiment from this group goes something like: “AI is moving incredibly fast. It’s both thrilling and terrifying. It will change everything. Most people have no idea how much their lives are about to shift, and as a society we are not prepared.” The CEO of one of the leading AI companies told me, “I wish I could slow AI down but I can’t.” Everyone is racing toward a finish line, and no one can afford to slow down unless everyone else does — and no one is. 

When I talked to Tristan Harris of the Center for Humane Technology about this, he focused on the danger in the speed of this race: “if we want to predict which future we're ending up in I would argue strongly that the race to roll out which becomes the race to take shortcuts and deploy things faster than society knows how to metabolize that change is the world that we are getting.” 

If AI is not going to slow down, what do we do? While thoughtful regulations are needed, and various for- and non-profit efforts to help, essentially humanity needs to speed up to meet the challenge. Now, this is much easier said than done, but here is our opportunity and our invitation. 

The Invitation of AI: Learning from Past Mistakes

Past technology, from the internet to the iPhone, have helped us immensely in certain areas, such as expanding communication, enhancing commerce, enabling social connection, political mobilization, and much more. 

Yet these technological advancements have largely failed us in one area: our mental health. In 2023, 90% of U.S. adults said the U.S. is in a mental health crisis. [APA, 2023] And rates of anxiety and depression have risen over 25% globally since 2020 – [WHO, 2022] Nearly 1 in 3 teen girls in the U.S. seriously considered suicide in 2021 – [CDC, 2023]. 

However, this is not how this chapter started. The creators of social media, the IPhone, and the technologies that now consume our lives started, for the most part, with the best intentions. When two friends of mine came up with the idea for the “like” button at Facebook, now Meta, (yes, there was a time when you could not like content) it was just a fun way to increase engagement. The intention was never to create something that has led to the mental health crisis we have today. Their mistake was not bad intentions. It was underestimating the power of this new technology and how much the attention economy would drive their choices. 

With the internet and social media, we thought, “If only technology could connect us and give us access to more information, everything will work out.” Evan Williams, former CEO and cofounder of Twitter (now X) said at Wisdom 2.0 that he and others thought when they helped open up the channels of communication via social media, of course some bad things would happen, but mainly good things would. On reflection, he said it is much messier than he thought. Instead, it has become a game of attention. He concluded, “Our attention has been hijacked and it's primarily been hijacked by advertising driven business models that are not driven to make us more wise.” 

The social platforms are driven to monetize our attention, and they have largely succeeded. This has worked out exceptionally for tech companies' profits, but for many humans, especially young humans, it has been catastrophic. We cannot afford to make the same mistake with AI. If we measure the success of our society by the stock price of tech giants — rather than the mental health of our youth — we are headed for disaster. 

Today it’s as if our youth are saying to us: “You adults are doing an incredible job advancing technology — thank you for that. But when it comes to our mental health, you are failing us. You’ve unleashed an unregulated, billion-dollar assault on our attention, and it’s harming us deeply. How bad does it have to get before you finally listen?”

The question we must urgently ask is: How do we build a society we actually want to live in — one that serves the many, not just the few? Of course technology has an important place, but how much more data do we need to realize that it alone does not create a thriving society? We need AI and other technology that supports a world we want to live in. 

The AI Backlash

There may not yet be a backlash against AI, but it’s likely coming. Consider the fear some express about undocumented immigrants; concerns they’ll take jobs or alter the culture. But soon, millions of AI agents will be entering the workforce. They won’t need visas or travel on boats, but their impact on jobs and the culture may far exceed anything immigration has ever brought. And how will we respond when we finally begin to notice the power of this new force and how many jobs it can impacts? Likely not well.

If humanity truly matters, and we’re spending hundreds of billions to advance AI, why aren’t we investing even a fraction of that in what sustains our humanity? If compassion is the glue that holds society together, why aren’t we strengthening that glue? A world driven by AI but devoid of compassion is a profoundly dangerous place. And if you look at where the money is going, that’s exactly what we’re building: a future rich in technology, but impoverished in wisdom, connection, and care.

Before we delve too deeply, let me say that I am generally pro-AI. I'm excited by how it can level the playing field, providing under-resourced kids with personalized tutoring previously available only to the wealthy, accelerating breakthroughs in preventing and treating cancer and other life-threatening illnesses, and advancing research across countless fields. In fact, with the help of AI, scientists have discovered the first new class of antibiotic in nearly 30 years — a breakthrough with the potential to save millions of lives. And there is so much more to come. 

Through the venture firm where I am a partner, Wisdom Ventures, we’ve invested in both OpenAI and Anthropic because we believe in the promise of AI — and that the leadership at these companies offers one of our best hopes for guiding its development wisely. We also want to support this next generation of entrepreneurs using AI to create a world we want to live in. 

At the same time as a society, with all our focus on AI, there is something I am afraid we are missing. 

Humanity in Partnership with AI

If we are not careful, we will witness the rise of the best of artificial intelligence, and the rise of the worst of humanity. AI will benefit the few, and leave millions of people unemployed and purposeless. We will have developed the most sophisticated AI we have ever known, and the most unsophisticated and isolated humanity we have ever known. We will win the AI race, and lose our humanity in the process. 

AI can amplify our humanity or erode it. The choice is ours.

In the past, we focused more on technology, and less on humanity. Will we make the same mistake with AI? Will we focus only on technology, and forget what matters most: our shared humanity? Or will we wake up, and nurture what is best in humanity? 

The Speed and Impact of AI

At some point, there will be a critical inflection when AI begins building the next generation of itself. From that moment on, the pace will accelerate beyond anything we have seen so far. 

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in the next year “half the development is going to be done by AI as opposed to people and then that will just kind of increase from there.” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said as much as 30% of his company’s code is currently being written by AI. The Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says that he does not plan to hire any more engineers. AI is getting that advanced.

The speed of AI is hard to fathom, especially as it starts building itself. And its impact on jobs will likely be significant. Ford CEO Jim Farley believes that AI will axe half of white-collar jobs. Increasingly, humans will be laid off, and AI agents and robots will be hired. Legendary Investor Vinod Khosla says that in 5 years, 80% of most jobs will be able to be done by AI. Mass unemployment is likely, be it one, five, or ten years. Even if we bring manufacturing back to the US, soon most assembly line work will be done by robots, who do not need overtime or healthcare, and who work 24/7, not 9-5 five days a week. Dark factories like they have in China will be commonplace, and once one company implements them, in order to compete, all other companies will have to follow. 

Amazon now has one million robots working in their factories, and more are coming. And it is not just in the factories. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that the company’s corporate workforce will shrink in the coming years as it adopts more AI tools and agents.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Many of these jobs aren’t ones people genuinely want. But it's a profound societal shift. Not every factory worker or accountant who is displaced will suddenly become a social media influencer or AI specialist. Most Americans read at a 6th-grade level, and it's unlikely they'll rapidly acquire advanced technical skills. This doesn't mean they're incapable, just that the shift is happening faster than many can likely adapt. We urgently need to develop new economic models. 

Systems that worked well in the age before superintelligence might fail spectacularly in this new era of superintelligence. It will take courage to rethink and create a more inclusive system — and we don't have much time

People ask, “Won’t AI create new jobs?” Yes, possibly more than we know. But enough to employ millions of factory workers, white collar workers, and cab/uber drivers? People worked hard to gain knowledge, which made them useful and able to garner a high wage. People spent seven years or longer getting their PhD on a topic to be able to find gainful employment from that learning … But now AI we can give you PhD level intelligence on almost every subject available 24/7 for $20 a month. 

Reid Hoffman, who I deeply respect, and others argue that if we do this right, jobs will be plentiful. Elon Musk talks about a post money world, where all needs are met and people work because they want to work. And the honest answer is that none of us know. But even if AI takes 20 million jobs, and creates 40 million, it is not clear to me that the 20 million people who lost jobs will be adequately skilled to take the new jobs. Again, a world with superintelligence is vastly different than a world without it, and we need to thoughtfully prepare for this transition. 

AI and Our Minds

The biggest impact of AI may be on our mental capacity. AI can both aid and manipulate, and the more data it has on us, the better it can do both. Meta some time back bragged that, in part thanks to AI, they were able to increase usertime on Instagram by 24%. Now they can keep users on their platform for longer and longer periods all with the help of AI. Of course, they will not stop at 24%. In the years ahead, this time will likely increase to 40, 50, or 70 percent. The focus is simple: how do we get someone to spend their entire life on our platform?

When I spoke to Yuval Harari about this, he mentioned how our minds are getting “supercharged by the algorithms and the AI. They are taking us in extremely different directions and creating more and more disunity.” We are in a battle for our attention, and AI helps those who want to monetize it by giving more and more alluring ads. For older minds this may be less of an issue, but for younger minds that need human contact and are learning how to focus, this becomes very dangerous. 

As such, AI is not the solution to all our problems. It will both solve some problems, especially in health, and create others. Every one of us needs something more than the next great AI agent. We need to create purposeful and meaningful lives. We cannot let the well–being of the next generation go unattended as we embark on this new chapter. 

Our educational institutions need to integrate AI in ways that they feel are helpful, but the most important education is teaching this next generation about core human values such as compassion, mindfulness, human connection, and a sense of service. 

What Makes Us Human

No matter the new technology of our age, let's not forget what makes us human: Love, compassion,courage, touch, warmth, human connection. Families and educational institutions across the world have an important role in making sure these qualities are cultivated and not forgotten. Only this way can we create a world of true human flourishing guided and supported by AI. 

And this is the world that most AI leaders aspire to as well. Most of the creators of AI started working on it to help humanity. They see it as a force for good. To achieve this, however, we cannot underestimate the power and impact of this new technology as we have with past technologies. And to move forward, we cannot expect AI companies to plan its integration. It is not their skill set. They can be involved, but they cannot lead. The AI companies will continue to fiercely compete, develop AI as fast as they can, and deliver value to their shareholders. We should not expect them to act differently. And they will not wait for us to be ready. We have to do our part. 

The Real Issue: A Thriving Humanity

In this sense, AI is not the issue. Humanity is. A healthy society can solve almost any problem. It will know how to wield power wisely and share resources appropriately. An unhealthy society will fail no matter how great the latest technology they have access to. 

In a world motivated by wisdom and compassion, this next chapter could be the most beautiful the world has seen with the greatest technologies working for our benefit. In a society run by greed and hatred, this could be one of the worst chapters in the history of our world, taking humanity with it. 

A Vision for Humanity in an Age of AI

When I spoke with author and activist Van Jones about this new AI chapter, he said, reflecting on social movements of the past: 

“Without intention, without a vision, without a dream, about how it could turn out well, it won’t.” 

This is what we need. And what is that vision? 

Will AI be partnered with wisdom so it is harnessed in ways that benefit the whole? Will we invest as much in humanity as we do in AI? 

Or will we once again believe that technology alone can solve all our problems, forgetting what makes us human, and using AI to more deeply addict us? Will we continue to be lonely, depressed, and anxious, now just with better technology?

AI will force us to develop new economic, environmental, social, educational, and vocational approaches. A new world is emerging. And to the extent we can focus on human flourishing and not just AI flourishing, we will have the best chance. Humans are not guaranteed. 

The real invitation of AI is that it inspires, even demands, humanity to come together — and challenges us to create a world as rich in genuine human intelligence as it is in artificial intelligence. Let’s not arrive at the end of our lives, or the end of our society, only to realize that in all our technological progress and cool new gadgets and robots, we forgot what truly matters most.  

We owe it to ourselves, our communities, and to future generations to sustain these qualities as we race full speed into an AI future. This is a daunting task for sure, but we humans tend to do our best when we are forced to work together and rise to a great challenge.

Who we are today might not be able to manage the power of AI. If we are still driven by greed and hatred and warfare, this is not going to go well. But who can become, if we can develop ourselves and focus on working together, can create a world of freedom and abundance unlike we have ever seen. 

But for this chapter to work out well for humans, it is us who need to advance, not AI.

This essay is part 1 in a series. 

Blog Post Title Two

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Three

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Four

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.