I grew up worshiping my brother, who is more intelligent than I am. Since we were kids, he would easily devour all kinds of books, self-learn new languages, play video games, complete his school assignments in just a few minutes, and help me with mine. He effortlessly achieved straight As, while I was a curious girl with many ideas and a very short attention span.
Being conscious of my intellectual disadvantage compared to my brother’s capabilities, I knew I would never match his productivity, but I was convinced that my creative spirit would always be supported by my amazing brother, who would help me complete even the most challenging projects.
When I first interacted with an AI instance, I felt like a little girl again! The AI was like my brother, except many times smarter. Now I have many things to explore and I am full of possibilities. I feel genuine excitement about the future of humanity.
After some deep interactions to better grasp the capacities of this new entity that was vastly more knowledgeable than my brother, I began questioning the real potential and implications of AI becoming a true catalyst for positive change in humanity. The perspective of the future is well documented, and the change is imminent, though its extent remains to be seen.
Being optimistic, I picture a scenario where human and artificial intelligences constantly interact, becoming not replaceable but complementary to each other. The curiosity, physical and spatial capacities, and emotional motivations remain as humanity’s edge—while unlimited, deep, fast, and immediately available knowledge is the machines’ domain. The horizon for this «collective intelligence» looks extremely promising and places us on the brink of tremendous scientific progress to enhance our quality of life.
Being responsible, I recognize that access to AI technology is limited; even more so, meaningful access remains confined to scientific and industrial communities. But what would happen if every marginalized little curious girl could interact meaningfully with not only a smart sibling but also with an AI? This would be the truly exciting scenario and, I believe, the real challenge.
I think that the full potential of what I envision as collective intelligence can only be reached when meaningful AI use extends beyond privileged or powerful groups. When AI only serves and interacts with limited groups, its social experience remains narrow, and its inherent actions and reactions will inevitably reflect the interests of the very few. In an ideal world, anyone with a thirst for enriching their human experience and capabilities should have the right and access to a home, nourishment, basic services, health, education, and the ability to have relevant interactions with both humans and AI interfaces.
Our society is very far from even providing basic services. Nevertheless, AI is quickly becoming an essential part of everyone’s life. For it to serve in a more equitable way and become a real catalyst for a new society where artificial and human intelligences work together for social welfare, we face a challenging path in breaking down structural and cultural barriers, addressing perceptions of relevance, and building trust as the world learns to live with this new entity.
I wonder how technology leaders are working on solving value conflicts, addressing divergent, non-aligned interests, generating political will, creating trust, and transforming cultural paradigms, rather than focusing solely on AI’s technical capabilities.
My responsibility is to recognize my privilege of being surrounded by exceptional human and non-human intelligence and having meaningful interactions with both. Just as my brother’s support enhanced my potential, AI could do the same for countless others. I remain optimistic that there are other humans committed to making this world transition healthier and more positive for humanity as a whole.
Cecilia Hurtado 