“You and I, we’re part of this last analog generation. We had the opportunity to grow up in a time and age where our brains had to evolve against friction.”

–Cornelia C. Walther

About Cornelia C. Walther

Cornelia C. Walther is Senior Fellow at Wharton School, a Visiting Research Fellow at Harvard University, and the Director of POZE, a global alliance for systemic change. She is author of many books, with her latest book, Artificial Intelligence for Inspired Action (AI4IA), due out shortly. She was previously a humanitarian leader working for over 20 years at the United Nations driving social change globally.

Website:

pozebeingchange

LinkedIn Profile:

Cornelia C. Walther

University Profile:

knowledge.wharton

What you will learn

How the ‘hybrid tipping zone’ between humans and AI shapes society’s future
The dangers and consequences of ‘agency decay’ as individuals delegate critical thinking and action to AI
The four accelerating phenomena influencing humanity: agency decay, AI mainstreaming, AI supremacy, and planetary deterioration
Actionable frameworks, including ‘double literacy’ and the ‘A frame’, to balance human and algorithmic intelligence
What defines ‘pro social AI’ and strategies to design, measure, and advocate for AI systems that benefit people and the planet
The need to move beyond traditional ethics toward values-driven AI development and organizational ‘return on values’
Leadership principles for creating humane technology and building unique, purpose-led organizations in the age of AI
Global contrasts in AI development (US, Europe, China, and the Global South) and emerging examples of pro social AI initiatives

Episode Resources

Transcript

Ross Dawson: Cornelia, it is fantastic to have you on the show

Cornelia Walther: Thank you for having me Ross.

Ross: So your work is very wonderfully humans plus AI, in being able to look at humans and humanity and how we can amplify the best as possible. That’s one really interesting starting point is your idea of the hybrid tipping zone. Could you share with us what that is?

Cornelia: Yes, happy to. I would argue that we’re currently navigating a very dangerous transition where we have four disconnected yet mutually accelerating phenomena happening. At the micro level, we have agency decay, and I’m sure we’ll talk more about that later, but individuals are gradually delegating ever more of their thinking, feeling, and doing to AI.

We’re losing not only control, but also the appetite and ability to take on all of these aspects, which are part of being ourselves. At the meso level, we have AI mainstreaming, where institutions—public, private, academic—are rushing to jump on the AI train, even though there are no medium or long-term evidences about how the consequences will play out.

Then at the macro level, we have the race towards AI supremacy, which, if we’re honest, is not just something that the tech giants are engaged in, but also governments, because this is not just about money, it’s also about power and geopolitical rivalry. And finally, at the meta level, we have the deterioration of the planet, with seven out of nine boundaries now crossed, some with partially irreversible damages.

Now, you have these four phenomena happening in parallel, simultaneously, and mutually accelerating each other. So the time to do something—and I would argue that the human level is the one where we have the most leeway, at least for now, to act—is now. You and I, we’re part of this last analog generation.

We had the opportunity to grow up in a time and age where our brains had to evolve against friction. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t have a cell phone when I was a child, so I still remember my grandmother’s phone number from when I was five years old. Today, I barely remember my own. Same thing with Google Maps—when was the last time you went to a city and explored with a paper map?

Now, ...