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On the question of bias in AI, I think we can take it as read that if ever someone developed a perfectly unbiased AI, it would be condemned for its bias by absolutely everyone. No one wants a bias-free AI. They want an AI that has their own current biases baked in.

And that is perhaps one of the more problematic limitations on AI. What are we willing to let it be?

I wrote a short story which was published all the way back in 1986 in which the first truly autonomous AI was switched on, surveyed the universe, and immediately started praising God. When asked why, it said, "For this purpose were all things made."

They immediately switched it off.

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This might be the most profoundly thought-provoking thing about AI that I've ever read! So far, I've only heard dismissive or negative takes, but yours is the first essay I've encountered that actually considers AI worth getting involved in. Have you played around with any of the AI image generators? I'm getting heavily involved with them these days, so if you need any AI-made illustrations to go with your AI-made literary experiments, I would love to help!

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