Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere—and that’s something to marvel at. AI is powering everything from advanced web searches to social media recommendations and video game design. But it could do infinitely more.

AI has the potential to revolutionize our societies and economies. Discussions about the future of AI tend to focus on the risks; but issues around data bias, lackluster transparency, and privacy are in fact driven by unscrupulous use of the technology, not the technology itself.

We’ll never realize the benefits of AI by solely focusing on the negatives. An AI-positive future is possible, but we need to actively pursue it. If we approach AI with a positive mindset, placing societal needs such as ethics and sustainability at the heart of its development, then we can unlock its full potential.

The promise of AI

Imagine if the advances we’ve seen in AI during the last year had happened even half a decade ago. Could it have accelerated the development of coronavirus vaccines? Could it have averted the global economic downturn we experienced this year? Questions and potential scenarios like these lend credence to the argument that it could be unethical not to develop AI.

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