December 04, 2025

Look Before We Leap on Artificial Intelligence

By: Jon B. Wolfsthal

This article was originally published on The Dispatch.

A debate about the role that artificial intelligence should and will play in society, and how it will affect humanity for both good and for ill, is currently underway. At the same time, a larger, potentially more consequential debate looms—whether humanity should seek to prevent the ever-advancing capabilities of AI from evolving into artificial general intelligence (AGI), and eventually some form of superintelligence. Some experts believe this step is impossible; others think it imminent.

Any technology smarter than humans may be capable of breaking free of the control systems humans have designed, allowing it to pursue actions that are not fully aligned with the best interests of humans individually or humanity collectively.

In reality, no one knows how to define what AGI is, whether it is possible, and if it comes to exist, whether humans can control it or survive its advent. Yet this uncertainty does not absolve policymakers from considering the risks AGI might pose, and taking precautions against worst-case outcomes before it is too late.

Read the full article on The Dispatch.

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