The AI Compass
AI doesn’t know where to go unless we show it the way.
Like a powerful ship without a rudder, raw AI capability without clear direction leads nowhere useful.
We’re building increasingly sophisticated AI systems, but sophistication isn’t the same as wisdom. Power isn’t purpose.
The real challenge isn’t making AI more capable – it’s deciding what we want it to be capable of.
Every AI system embodies choices. Human choices. Our choices.
When we train a language model, we choose the training data. When we fine-tune an AI, we choose the parameters. When we deploy AI systems, we choose the constraints.
These aren’t just technical decisions. They’re ethical ones. Cultural ones. Social ones.
The choices we make today about AI direction will echo for generations.
Some want AI to maximize profits. Others want it to advance science. Still others want it to reduce human suffering.
These aren’t mutually exclusive, but they pull in different directions.
Without clear direction, AI will drift toward whatever’s easiest to measure and optimize. Usually money. Usually engagement. Usually what worked before.
But “what worked before” isn’t always what we need next.
We need intentional direction. Purposeful guidance. Thoughtful constraints.
This means asking hard questions:
– What values should AI embody?
– Who should decide those values?
– How do we ensure AI serves humanity’s best interests?
– What does “best interests” even mean?
The answers aren’t obvious. They’re not purely technical. They require broad discussion and careful consideration.
But we can’t wait for perfect answers.
Every AI system deployed today is a vote for certain values, certain directions, certain futures.
We’re all navigating this together. Each choice matters.
The compass exists. We just need to decide where to point it.
Because AI will go where we direct it. The question is: where do we want to go?
The power is in our hands. The responsibility too.
AI needs direction. And that direction needs to come from us – all of us – before the ship sails too far.
The rudder awaits our hand.
