I have contacted multiple Senators across Australia including Senator Tim Ayres who is responsible for the AI regulatory framework being pursued. A more specific email was drafted for Tim and his position within parliament. See below:
Dear Senator Tim,
I am making contact in relation to the current AI regulations being developed. I am increasingly concerned about the lack of action and the slow progress of international cooperation and regulatory frameworks in Australia. AI experts have been sounding the alarm for the past few years and in recent days, the crisis has become more clear.
AI can be an excellent tool and this is not about banning, it’s about regulating. I use AI in my practice for the purpose of organising information and in note taking for efficiency. However, I am aware of the problem of recursive self-development which is being pursued by many companies. The people in charge are completely unaware of the ramifications and they don’t try to hide it. They are openly saying the probability of human extinction could be anywhere between 25-70%.
Humans have this unsavoury habit of applying our own ways of thinking and understanding on animals and concepts we don't understand. We also have a habit of thinking we are better than what we are. There's a trend of increased narcissism and entitlement which has slowly spread throughout society. Further, we have become increasingly unable to focus on the long-term as technology and brain circuits reward immediate gratification and pleasure as opposed to balanced and critical thinking for responsible outcomes. We think we can tackle anything, but we don't know what we don't know.
From a psychological perspective, our entire society is constructed around completing education and obtaining employment. AI has the ability to replace majority of the workforce leading to questions around how to humans contribute to be able to obtain goods and services. Further, how do humans find purpose when the entire nature of our existence may be altered quicker than what we can adjust to?
Humans do not like change and generally struggle with adapting. We enjoy familiarity, we enjoy consistency and the unknown generally causes existential turmoil. We are entering a stage of unknowns where each day could open an exponential amount of issues. The government will not be equipped to manage and support the extreme change to our societal structure if something isn't actioned in the immediate future. Our country is already in a crisis of "us vs them" where individuals struggle to work together when they may have different values and beliefs. Survival is likely to become brutal.
I would like to offer my professional expertise as a psychologist where it may be relevant. I hope to hear from you very soon as this matter is very pressing.
Thank you for your time in considering my perspective.
Kind regards,
Courtney Ah Shay
Psychologist
GradDipPsychSc, BPsycSci (Hons), MClinPsych, MAPS