The Bottom Line

Jaron Lanier: Artificial intelligence is not a threat to humans

The man who coined ‘virtual reality’ says AI poses no threat, and resisting technological progress is futile anyway.

What if the fears of artificial intelligence are unfounded? Is AI nothing more than a “mashup” of everything available online? And is there zero possibility that machines could one day build other machines, making humans irrelevant?

Earlier this month, host Steve Clemons spoke with computer scientist Jaan Tallinn, who argues that AI poses an existential risk to humans.

This week, Steve talks with computer scientist Jaron Lanier for a totally different take: Humanity has nothing to fear. Lanier argues that we’ve been conditioned to fear that technology will reach the point of sentient being – fears perpetuated by science fiction.