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AI Anthology

Out There
A collection of essays on the future of AI
Introduction by Eric Horvitz, Chief Scientific Officer, Microsoft

To nurture a future where AI is leveraged to the benefit of people and society, it is crucial to bring together a wide array of voices and viewpoints. With this goal in mind, we invited a constellation of experts, with specialties encompassing a broad spectrum—spanning the fields of business, economics, education, engineering, healthcare, history, law, mathematics, medicine, mental health, psychology, and the sciences—to explore the capabilities of GPT-4 before its public release and provide their insightful reflections in the form of essays. We offered three case studies to the contributors at the outset to inspire ideas and asked them to focus on two core questions:

How might this technology and its successors contribute to human flourishing?


How might we as society best guide the technology to achieve maximal benefits for humanity?

Reflections on AI and the future of human flourishing

By Eric Horvitz, Chief Scientific Officer, Microsoft

Recent advances in artificial intelligence have sparked both wonder and anxiety as we contemplate its transformative potential. AI holds enormous promise to enrich our lives, but this anticipation comes intertwined with apprehensions about the challenges and risks that may emerge.

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A portrait of Eric Horvitz

Business & Economics

  • Amplifying ethics

    Colin Mayer, Emeritus Professor at the Blavatnik School of Government and the Saiid Business School at the University of Oxford, analyzes the importance of scrupulous decisions.
    A portrait of Colin Mayer

  • Ethical AI for Africa

    Anzetse Were, a development economist with over 12 years of experience in research, advising, and strategy in Africa, expounds on the importance of ethical AI.
    A portrait of Anzetse Were

  • Real human flourishing

    Daron Acemoglu, Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, realizes the need for human empowerment in tech.
    A portrait of Daron Acemoglu

Education & History

  • Cognitive engagement

    Kristen DiCerbo, Chief Learning Officer at Khan Academy, explores how Al could help more students experience interactive learning.
    A portrait of Kristen Dicerbo

  • A thinking evolution

    Alec Gallimore, a rocket scientist and Dean of Engineering at the University of Michigan, gets curious about the odyssey of AI.
    A portrait of Alec Gillimore

  • Empowering creation

    Ada Palmer, Professor of History at University of Chicago, explores the possibilities of the information revolution.
    A portrait of Ada Palmer

Engineering, Math & Science

  • Learning advantage

    John Anderson, President of the National Academy of Engineering, recognizes the value of Al as an aid to student learning.
    A portrait of John Anderson

  • Precise translation

    Terence Tao, Professor of Mathematics at University of California, Los Angeles, realizes the need for new skills when inputting human data and analyzing AI-generated outputs.
    A black and white photo of a man smiling in front of a blackboard.

  • Infinite possibilities

    Marcia McNutt, geophysicist and 22nd President of the National Academy of Sciences, uncovers the promising potential of AI for research and education.
    A portrait of Marcia McNutt

  • Reinventing deliberation

    Saul Perlmutter, Nobel Laureate and physics professor at University of California, Berkeley, elaborates on societal deliberation and the advantages of pro-social AI training.
    A portrait of Saul Perlmutter

Healthcare

  • Power to transform

    Yaa Kumah-Crystal, biomedical informatics and pediatric endocrinology professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, reveals how Al tools have the potential to become valuable health allies.
    A portrait of Yaa Kumah

  • Global health equity

    Trevor Mundel, President of Global Health, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, speaks to AI’s potential in shrinking global health and development inequity.
    A portrait of Trevor Mundel

  • Enabling human connection

    Natalie Pageler, Chief Medical Information Officer at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, considers the ways AI could enhance or diminish humanistic care.
    A portrait of Natalie Pageler

  • Accessible healthcare

    Robert Wachter, Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, examines how AI could reshape clinical care.
    A portrait of Robert Wachter

Law

  • Overcoming barriers

    Tino Cuéllar, tenth president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former justice of the Supreme Court of California, expounds on the remarkable abilities of generative AI and how it could reshape who we become.
    A portrait of Tino Cuellar

  • Cultivating cognitive liberty

    Nita Farahany, Professor of Law and Philosophy at Duke University, considers how we can embrace cognitive liberty for human flourishing in this digital age.
    A portrait of Nita Farahany

  • Eradicating inequality

    Gillian Hadfield, Professor of Law and Economics at the University of Toronto, champions legal access for all.
    A portrait of Gillian Hadfield

Mental Health & Wellbeing

  • Telehealth-2.0 revolution

    Tom Insel, psychiatrist and neuroscientist, reviews different ways Al could improve the safety and efficacy of mental healthcare and offer patients better support.
    A portrait of Tom Insel

  • Encouraging positivity

    Sonja Lyubomirsky, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, examines the various ways AI could promote human connection or harm it.
    A portrait of Sonja Lyubomirsky

  • Language of friendship

    James Pennebaker, Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin, gets inquisitive about AI as a valued friend capable of sharing and understanding.
    A portrait of Jamie Pennebaker