Greetings from NYC. I'm back in town for a day, then off to Scottsdale to do an AI keynote for my friends at iQmetrix. Last night, I read a white paper from Google DeepMind about an AI system they are developing designed to mediate discussions, especially on divisive topics, to help groups reach consensus. By the numbers, the system was more successful than human mediators. I was so intrigued that I read the paper twice. It kept me up all night.
DeepMind's system uses LLMs to analyze and synthesize viewpoints, producing summaries that reflect shared positions while including dissenting opinions. It operates by soliciting feedback from participants, revising its summaries based on their input in a continuous loop until an acceptable version is reached. While the AI is effective at producing agreeable summaries, DeepMind acknowledges that it lacks certain human mediation skills, such as moderating off-topic remarks and ensuring factual accuracy. This sounds awesome, except…
When people ask me what I fear most about AI, my answer is "nothing." I'm not worried about Skynet or other apocalyptic scenarios. I am scared to death about artificial control, which I explored inThe Next Great Decoupling: AI Takes Control.
As I read this new paper, all I could think about was how easily model bias could impact any outcome. There are no "neutral" mediators. All humans have biases. The danger is believing there could ever be a neutral AI mediator. My challenge to DeepMind: prove me wrong.
As always your thoughts and comments are both welcome and encouraged. Just reply to this email. -s
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ABOUT SHELLY PALMER
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named LinkedIn’s “Top Voice in Technology,” he covers tech and business for Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular daily business blog. He's a bestselling author, and the creator of the popular, free online course, Generative AI for Execs. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.
