From Italy by Bus to AI: Learning from Extremes

I don’t hold my convictions too tightly. I tend to start statements with “I think” or end with “in my view”, and till very recently, I wouldn’t dare to make statements at all (especially in writing).

Being naturally uncertain, I try to stay away from “I am this” or “I am that” when describing what I think, because that would mean I have to be “this” or “that” all the time and everywhere… I find that too limiting. I can think one thing now and change my mind tomorrow because someone or something convinced me of the contrary. Depending on the context, I can also lean more toward one side of an issue or the other. For example, I can come across as pushing hard for AI innovation when talking to somebody in Europe (and I might be perceived as “anti-regulation” because of that), while pushing for AI regulation when talking to someone in the US. All within the same day. I like to play the devil’s advocate in conversations. To me, everything is nuanced; it depends on the circumstances.

My husband says this lack of strong opinions comes from a subconscious need: I need everybody to like me (he is a therapist; he may be right!). It may also be that it’s part of my culture: people from Galicia are known for often responding to a question with another question because “it all depends”. Or maybe it is all my parents’ fault.

Pontevedra, 1987.

I was getting ready to go to Italy with my classmates to celebrate our graduation from the school I had been going to since I was four years old. I was thirteen. We were going to drive for ten days, all the way to Rome and back, in two buses (yes, a trip by bus was exciting back then!).

I remember very clearly the conversation we had at home the night before we left. First, my mother took me aside to give me ‘very important advice’ with a grave expression on her face:

“Noelia, this is a very important opportunity in your life and you need to make the most out of it. It is crucial you pay attention to the group and not be your usual absent-minded self. I know you, and I am afraid you may get so absorbed in the details of every painting or every sculpture you see in a museum, that you’ll lose track of the group and you may be left behind. Please, please, please, stay with the group and move along.” - she said.

Then, my dad’s turn came and, without having heard what my mom had told me, he took me aside and said: “Noelia, this is a very important opportunity in your life and you need to make the most out of it. You are going to see works of art that are unique in the world and have survived for centuries. Take the time to really soak that in, and don’t let yourself be dragged by your classmates, or be pulled here and there just rushing through things.”

I brought them together after both talks and confronted one against the other. Can you please agree on what I am supposed to do?

The answer, of course, is in the middle.

Does the contradictory advice I’ve been exposed to since childhood from the two people who loved me the most have anything to do with my tendency not to have strong opinions on most subjects? Is this why nothing is black or white, everything has its pros and cons, or everything is nuanced for me?

I don’t know, but what is clear is that I am not in fashion. Being in the middle, not having a strong stance but only an opinion that can change with more information, does not give you so many “likes” in social media; and does not get you invited to talk shows. If you are a politician, it most certainly does not help you win elections. However, I think (or I want to think because it makes me feel better) there are advantages to not being absolutely sure, to not linking your own identity with any particular opinion. It pushes you to continue to ask questions. And asking questions is the basis of scientific progress, is it not? As Richard Feynman¹ wrote:

“If we did not have a doubt or recognized ignorance, we would not get any new ideas.”

Hmmmm. I realize I may have just added this last paragraph - and the renowned scientist quote - as sound evidence that I am NOT just trying to get everybody to like me (and to prove my husband wrong… which he may not be after all).

Back to the point.

I also think my parents’ extremes were very useful, even beyond that first Italian trip, to signal the edges of the road I had to travel in life, and they helped make it a wide road instead of a line. Life is a great balancing act², after all.

Coming back to the world of AI, my mom and dad were the equivalent to those utopian or dystopian worlds where this technology could lead us. Views like “AI is going to save the world” or “AI will be a job killer and we are not ready for it” are useful because they help us visualize the amazing opportunity and prepare for the potential risks. However, we should also recognize that there is a wide spectrum in between, even if those extreme voices attract us the most: the old simplicity of the good vs evil dichotomy that religions, political parties and social media algorithms know so well. If you are scared of AI³ and prefer to not even (consciously) touch it, or if you use it a lot without thinking about what you may be giving away, I would encourage you to open up your mind to the extremes as a guide.

“This is only going to dumb you down, silly! Do you want to lose your ability to think? Stay away!” - says the little voice on one of your shoulders.

“You can save so much time! You can have so much more impact! Do not stay behind! Even if you don’t use me others will! - says the little voice on the other.

And after you’ve heard both you make your decision, and you act intentionally, in the middle.

I, for example, may use an AI application⁴ to process a lot of documents I wouldn’t otherwise have the time to read, so that I can get a summary and interact with questions. But I still read a lot, including paper books. And I don’t use AI for writing these essays (other than to suggest grammatical changes⁵ and to add an image⁶) because I feel a lot of the value I get from my writing is precisely in the process of coming up with what I want to say and how (and hopefully, you appreciate it too).

Having two contradictory messages as a guide may appear confusing, but it may just be what we need at this stage.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Feynman

2. Quote from one of my favourite books by Dr Seuss: Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

3. I’ve almost given up specifying when I am talking about Generative AI vs other types of AI. Most people have come to associate AI with Generative AI so, I have decided to leave it like that, as it does not make much of a difference for the purpose of this essay.

4. I use the free version of NotebookLM by Google for this.

5. I use the free version of Grammarly for this.

6. I use the free version of Freepik for this.