Stephen Downes

This is a remarkable letter, not the least because it comes from Mark Zuckerberg. The premise is that we should put AI into people's hands and have people make their own decisions about how to use it. The most important point is that "everyone will have an exceptionally capable personal agent that understands you, your goals, and everything you care about...  the key to a positive future for everyone is achieving a balance of power that favors individuals. The solution is to ensure that superintelligence is broadly distributed to empower people." I am in agreement with this basic proposition, however, I don't trust the author to implement it. The history of Meta has always been consolidation and control, not free and open commerce and communication. I don't see that changing any time soon. See also: Carlo Iacono, The Future Is for Everyone Who Wins the Auction.