Debating Matters Transatlantic
INTRODUCTION
For centuries, humanity has seen technology evolve, bringing both positive and negative change to everyday life. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) systems appear to be having an historically important impact across all areas, including the economy, relationships, international security and education.
AI really came to public prominence in 2022 with the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Its ability to produce convincingly human-sounding text in response to prompts written in casual, understandable language was a sensation, reaching one million users within five days [Ref: Exploding Topics]. Since then, AI applications and features have become normalised and increasingly relied upon as they are widely available and easy to use for anyone with an internet connection. Alongside text-generation products like ChatGPT, AI-powered tools for generating images, audio, video, code and more have proliferated. This has raised many questions for the internet, workplaces and schools, as it becomes increasingly difficult to differentiate between AI and human-generated content.
But the implications for society are only just becoming apparent. In January 2024, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) claimed that 40 per cent of jobs worldwide will be affected by AI. She warned that it will likely worsen global inequality but could also enhance some humans’ performance and create new jobs [Ref: The Guardian]. AI-powered autonomous weapons are already starting to unleash new and deadlier forms of warfare, and scientists have warned about the potential for AI to be used to design bioweapons [Ref: Science]. In 2017, the world-famous physicist, Stephen Hawking, even claimed that ‘AI may replace humans altogether’ as a ‘new form of life’ that can rapidly learn and improve, making people obsolete [Ref: Independent].
However, in 2021, a leading consultancy firm claimed AI might boost the UK’s GDP by up to 10 per cent by 2030 [Ref: PwC] and take routine and dehumanising tasks out of human hands, leaving citizens free to pursue more creative, strategic and people-focused work. AI has the potential to revolutionise fields as diverse as medicine, education and sustainability. So, should we welcome AI’s potential, or are the risks too great?
DEBATE IN CONTEXT
This section provides a summary of the key issues in the debate, set in the context of recent discussions and the competing positions that have been adopted.
What is AI?
The term ‘artificial intelligence’ was first used in 1956, but the capacity of machines to replicate human-like mental processes and activities has expanded significantly since then. In essence, AI is ‘a collection of technologies that can be used to imitate or even to outperform tasks performed by humans using machines’ [Ref: The Conversation], and ‘has become more popular today thanks to increased data volumes, advanced algorithms, and improvements in computing power and storage’ [Ref: SAS]. These technologies range from sophisticated rule-following programs to machine-learning algorithms that apply trial-and-error to large amounts of data to solve tasks like pattern-spotting or sorting into categories. Now, it seems, ‘machines are rapidly taking on ever more challenging cognitive tasks, encroaching on the fundamental ability that sets humans apart as a species: to make complex decisions, to solve problems – and, most importantly, to learn’ [Ref: Financial Times].
Yet there has been criticism of the idea that applying a human idea like ‘learning’ is really appropriate when it comes to AI. As two researchers from the University of Sydney note: ‘Most AI systems that most people use, such as ChatGPT, also do not learn once they are built. You could say AI systems don’t learn at all – training is just how they’re built, it’s not how they work. The “P” in GPT literally stands for “pre-trained”.’ What really makes AI systems useful is the enormous amount of ‘training data’ they can draw upon, far more than any individual could absorb [The Conversation].
The ethics of AI
AI poses some fundamental ethical questions for society. For example, how should we view the use of AI in the military arena? Although there has been a consensus that ‘giving robots the agency to kill humans would trample over a red line that should never be crossed’ [Ref: Financial Times], robots have long been present in bomb disposal, mine clearance and anti-missile systems. Some, such as software engineer Ronald Arkin, think that developing ‘ethical robots’ that are programmed to strict ethical codes could be beneficial in the military, if they are programmed never to break rules of combat that humans might flout [Ref: Nature].
But events may have already overtaken such concerns. Both Russia and Ukraine have been using AI in their weaponry; allegedly, a fully autonomous Ukrainian drone has killed Russian soldiers [Ref: ArsTechnica]. More broadly, the possibility of increased autonomy in AI decision-making opens up a moral vacuum, which some suggest needs to be addressed by society, governments and legislators [Ref: The Times], while others argue that a code of ethics for robotics is urgently needed [Ref: The Times]. After all, who would be responsible for a decision badly made by a machine? The programmer, the engineer, the owner or the robot itself?
On the other hand, supporters of AI argue that its use in the Ukraine war has massively aided the ability to respond and diffuse some of the most harrowing aspects of modern warfare. AI has been used by Ukraine, partnered with the US and Palantir, to map data from drones on the location of mines. This has allowed them to assess which areas are most affected, and to prioritise clearing mines that will benefit the most people or have the biggest economic impact. Therefore transforming ‘the speed, efficiency and safety of clearing war zones in the aftermath of global conflicts’ [Ref: TIME].
As another example, driverless cars have become increasingly popular, raising concerns around life-or-death AI decisions. In a situation requiring a split-second decision to either to swerve, possibly killing the passengers, or not to swerve, possibly killing another road user, how should the machine decide?[Ref: Aeon] Perhaps more importantly, the same technology that launched deadly missiles in WWII brought Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the surface of the moon. The harnessing of nuclear power laid waste to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but it also provides power to billions without burning fossil fuels. In this sense, AI is another tool and we can use it to make the world a better place, if we wish. [Ref: The National Interest]
A threat to humanity?
For some critics, advances in AI pose serious existential problems for humanity. Oxford professor Nick Bostrom has voiced concerns about an ‘intelligence explosion’ if the ability of machines to learn for themselves accelerates very rapidly. Bostrom believes that ‘at some point we will create machines that are superintelligent, and that the first machine to attain superintelligence may become extremely powerful to the point of being able to shape the future according to its preferences’. [Ref: Vox]
In May 2023, hundreds of prominent AI researchers and public figures from around the world, including the CEOs of leading companies such as DeepMind and OpenAI, released a Statement on AI Risk comparing ‘the risk of extinction from AI’ to that from ‘pandemics and nuclear war’ [Ref: Center for AI Safety]. Autonomy is a key concern for many critics, with technologist Tom Ditterich warning that despite the appeal to some of driverless cars, autonomous weapons and automated surgical assistants, AI systems should never be fully autonomous, because: ‘By definition a fully autonomous system is one that we have no control over, and I don’t think we ever want to be in that situation.’ [Ref: Business Insider] Researcher Tamlyn Hill describes concerns about self-teaching AI that can outperform humans in every cognitive task, and thus always thwart attempts by humanity to control it [Ref: Scientific American].
On the other hand, there has been criticism of this ‘doomer’ outlook. In response to the claims of one former Anthropic employee that there is a real risk of AI wiping out humanity [Ref: BBC News], one commentator bluntly argued: ‘The idea that AI will kill us all in five years is preposterous.’ [Ref: Gary Marcus]
Moreover, this outlook underplays the panoply of benefits from AI. For example, climate scientists have noted the positive impact that AI could have in mitigating and responding to climate change. AI is being used to map the melting of icebergs, the effect of deforestation on CO2 levels and the location of litter in the ocean – massively speeding up the effectiveness of programmes working to clean up spaces and respond to changing landscapes. Moreover, AI has become vital for development projects by advancing technologies that can predict weather changes to help build resilience in communities vulnerable to more extreme weather [Ref: World Economic Forum].
Practical skills and the use of AI
On a social level, critics are keen to explore practical issues, such as the future of work, with many suggesting that advances in automation will render certain jobs obsolete. Commentator Clare Foges draws parallels with the Luddites, who attempted to resist the loss of their jobs to machines during the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago [Ref: History.com]. She notes recent forecasts that up to five million people could lose their jobs to automation [Ref: The Times]: ‘Two hundred years on, a braver newer world is arriving at astonishing speed, and threatens to make Luddites out of us all. The robots are coming, they are here; creeping stealthily into factory, office and shop.’ [Ref: The Times]. Others see this as a positive development, however, arguing that AI is already taking over repetitive work such as data entry, freeing people to work on more interesting, complex jobs better suited to human aptitudes.
However, AI has already been seen to have key benefits in improving productivity and experimentation in the workplace. Microsoft argues that AI is ‘ushering in a new era of efficiency and innovation’ as by streamlining information, summarising documents and analysing large data sets it gives more time for employees to respond faster to customer needs, operational issues and changes in the market. [Ref: Microsoft]
Yet, there is also the risk of de-skilling where workers rely more and more on AI [Ref: Nature]. For example, if students get AI to write their essays, they avoid the process of thinking through arguments and gathering ideas. Doctors, while initially welcoming the assistance of AI to assist in diagnosis and note taking, are now concerned that they are losing ‘muscle memory’ and the ‘cognitive stamina’ needed to evaluate scans and symptoms. A study by University College London suggested that the introduction of an AI tool, which assists in the spotting of precancerous growths, led to the identification by doctors themselves to decrease by six per cent [Ref: New York Times].
A brave new world?
For advocates, AI promises to change the world in countless positive ways, and they see warnings about its risks as overblown. As Adam Jezard observes: ‘Such concerns are not new… From the weaving machines of the Industrial Revolution to the bicycle, mechanisation has prompted concerns that technology will make people redundant or alter society in unsettling ways.’ [Ref: Financial Times] Computer scientist Yann LeCun, one of the ‘godfathers’ of modern AI, cautions against over-emphasising its dangers: ‘AI will bring a lot of benefits to the world. But we’re running the risk of scaring people away from it.’ He anticipates a future where humans benefit from AI assistance, which will be ‘like working with a staff of super smart people’ [Ref: Wired].
Advocates point to the benefits AI has already brought us when envisaging how it will continue to change the way we live our lives. In the field of medicine alone, AI is being used to improve prenatal screening for fetal abnormalities [Ref: iFIND], detect the early signs of heart failure [Ref: MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences] and track changes in brain tumours from a person’s movement [Ref: Computational Oncology]. On the other hand, reliance on AI chatbots for health advice could produce misdiagnoses – both creating unnecessary alarm but also missing signs of serious illness [Ref: BBC News].
Earlier this year, it was announced that ChatGPT had disproved an 80-year-old mathematics conjecture [Ref: Guardian]. By working beyond traditional subject-based ‘silos’, AI may be able to synthesise findings in multiple fields to produce novel insights [Ref: Research Policy]. Others criticise predictions that advances in AI signal the end of humanity as misguided: ‘After so much talking about the risks of super-intelligent machines, it’s time to turn on the light, stop worrying about sci-fi scenarios, and start focusing on AI’s actual challenges’ – from its impact on jobs to the risk of redesigning the world so that humans fit in with machines rather than the other way round [Ref: Aeon].
Perhaps more profoundly, others question why we are so quick to underestimate our abilities as humans and overestimate the potential threat of AI. Author Nicholas Carr observes: ‘Every day we are reminded of the superiority of computers… What we forget is that our machines are built by our own hands.’ He argues that ‘if computers had the ability to be amazed, they’d be amazed by us’ [Ref: New York Times].
Fundamental to many pro-AI arguments is the belief that technological progress is a good thing in and of itself. Futurist Dominic Basulto speaks of ‘existential reward’, arguing that ‘humanity has an imperative to consider dystopian predictions of the future. But it also has an imperative to push on, to reach its full potential’ [Ref: Washington Post].
Throughout history, we have gradually made our lives easier and safer through innovation, automation and technology. So, with all of the arguments in mind, are critics right to mistrust the proliferation of AI in our lives, and the ethical and practical problems that it may present in the future? Or should we embrace the technological progress that AI represents, and the potential it has to improve our lives? Should we not focus on using our human agency to cultivate and determine how AI is used, rather than worrying about its development?
ESSENTIALS
FOR
AI can help shape society for the better – but humans and machines must work together
D Fox Harrell Guardian 18 August 2023
Could AI transform life in developing countries?
Briefing The Economist25 January 2024
The future of jobs in the age of AI, sustainability and deglobalization
Saadia Zahidi World Economic Forum 3 May 2023
10 Ways AI Was Used for Good This Year
Sophie BushwickScientific American 15 December 2022
Ukraine Is Using AI to Help Clear Millions of Russian Landmines
Vera Bergengruen Time 2 November 2023
AI breakthrough in detecting leading cause of childhood blindness
UCL News 27 April 2023
The Case for AI Optimism
Michael R. Strain American Enterprise Institute 14 June 2024
AI Optimism: What It Is, Is Not and Why It’s Important
Frank Fawzi Newsweek 11 September 2023
AI optimism: How embracing artificial intelligence is getting workers ahead
Sophia Epstein BBC 13 July 2023
Why Chinese Citizens Are Far More Optimistic About AI Than Americans
Grace Shao Bloomberg 13 August 2026
The Data-Center Panic Is Overblown
Elias Wachtel The Atlantic 16 June 2026
What is a data center and why is it important for business?
Flexential 5 September 2023 – Potential bias
AGAINST
AI will affect 40% of jobs and probably worsen inequality, says IMF head
Dan Milmo Guardian 15 January 2024
Tech guru Jaron Lanier: ‘The danger isn’t that AI destroys us. It’s that it drives us insane’
Simon Hattenstone Guardian 23 March 2023
AI causes real harm. Let’s focus on that over the End-of-Humanity hype
Alex Hanna & Emily M. Bender Scientific American12 August 2023
‘Very scary’: Mark Zuckerberg’s pledge to build advanced AI alarms experts
Dan Milmo Guardian 19 January 2024
Here’s Why AI May Be Extremely Dangerous—Whether It’s Conscious or Not
Tamlyn Hunt Scientific American25 May 2023
Why Conscious AI Is a Bad, Bad Idea
Anil Seth Nautilus 8 May 2023
Why are communities pushing back against data centers?
Liz Mineo The Harvard Gazette 9 April 2026
IN DEPTH
OpenAI vs Anthropic: Two Completely Different Visions for AI’s Future
Luis Chavez-Mattos MindStudio 7 May 2026
Google Deepmind AI makes breakthrough in one of hardest tests for artificial intelligence
Andrew Griffin Independent 17 January 2024
Preventing an AI-related catastrophe
Benjamin Hilton 80000 Hours March 2023
Davos 2024: Can – and should – leaders aim to regulate AI directly?
Amanda Ruggeri BBC Worklife 19 January 2024
Choosing AI’s Impact on the Future of Work
Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson Stanford Social Innovation Review 25 October 2023
Artificial intelligence and ethics: 10 areas of interest
Brian Patrick Green Markkula Center for Applied Ethics 21 November 2017
Top nine ethical issues in artificial intelligence
Julia Bossman World Economic Forum 21 October 2016
The doomsday invention
Raffi Khatchadourian New Yorker 25 November 2015
‘Omens’
Ross Anderson Aeon 25 February 2013
What is really happening to jobs? Separating AI hype from reality
Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research July 2026
The Pros and Cons of AI in Education: Benefits, Risks, and Real Examples
Michael Healey Discovery Education 9 December 2025
BACKGROUNDERS
Useful websites and materials that provide a good starting point for research.
AI: Separating Man from Machine
Sandy Starr Letters on Liberty June 2023
Don’t fear the robots: why the rise of the machines is nothing to be scared of
Kevin McCullagh Icon 26 January 2018
The 10 most important breakthroughs in artificial intelligence
James O’Malley TechRadar 10 January 2018
The real danger of artificial intelligence it’s not what you think
João Duarte Hackernoon 13 November 2017
How AI can free up professionals to add more value
Christopher Fitzgerald and Fernando Florez ACCA 1 May 2017
Our fear of artificial intelligence
Paul Ford MIT Technology Review 11 February 2015
The pope, AI and ‘magnificent humanity’
Rob Lyons Academy of Ideas Substack 1 June 2026
What Is A Data Center And Why Are They Suddenly Everywhere?
Robert J. Szczerba Forbes 9 July 2026
Turning a Local Issue into a Federal Headache: The Problem with Data Center Moratoriums
Jennifer Huddleston & Christopher Gardner Cato Institute 1 July 2026 – potential Libertarian bias
The Data Center Debate: Fact vs. Fiction
Goldwater Institute 13 April 2026 – Potential Libertarian bias
ORGANISATIONS
Links to organisations, campaign groups and official bodies who are referenced within the Topic Guide or which will be of use in providing additional research information.
Campaign to Stop Killer Robots
IN THE NEWS
Relevant recent news stories from a variety of sources, which ensure students have an up to date awareness of the state of the debate.
How leaning too heavily on artificial intelligence fuels student burnout
Karina Petrova PsyPost 4 July 2026
From AI to ‘killer robots’: UN chief issues urgent governance call
Daniel Johnson United Nations 6 July 2026
Short story accused of being AI-written wins overall Commonwealth prize
Ella Creamer Guardian 1 July 2026
KPMG pulls report on AI usage due to apparent hallucinations
Anthony Ha TechCrunch 13 June 2026
The AI race is generating a dual reality
John Thornhill FT 18 April 2024
Cryptographers Solve Decades-Old Privacy Problem
Madison Goldberg Nautilus17 December 2023
You won’t be able to ignore AI in 2024
Will Dunn New Statesman 4 January 2024
AI is the buzz, the big opportunity and the risk to watch among the Davos glitterati
Kelvin Chan and Jamey Keaten AP News 18 January 2024
After OpenAI’s Bots Went Rogue, Watchdogs Were Kept on a Short Leash
The New York Times 3 September 2026
The Day the Bots Broke Loose
Robert McMillan Wall Street Journal 26 July 2026
Their teenage sons died by suicide. Now, they are sounding an alarm about AI chatbots
Rhitu Chatterjee NPR 19 September 2025
AUDIO VISUAL
Will AI increase productivity?
Battle of Ideas October 2024