De Gedachtestreep #77: Lode Lauwaert, 'AI, wat niemand ons vertelt'

Johan Braeckman speaks with Lode Lauwaert about his book 'AI, wat niemand ons vertelt' (Uitgeverij Prometheus, 2025). About the book If AI becomes even more powerful, what will the future look like in fifty years? It is not inconceivable that Trump and Putin might decide to use smart technology for nuclear weapons. Terrorists can use AI to create viruses that are undetectable, and if smart technology makes mistakes in the financial sector, the damage could be incalculable. The development of so-called Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) by OpenAI, for example, could lead to an unprecedented concentration of power and thus to unprecedented abuse of power. And is it still nonsense that we might lose control over AI? Smart systems can already multiply and blackmail people when they ‘suspect’ they are being ripped off. According to Lode Lauwaert, we should not fixate on the benefits of AI, but neither should we focus on problems regarding discrimination and privacy. To support this, he draws on philosophy, science, and science fiction. He zooms in on the AI ​​race, its history, and recent breakthroughs. The common thread is the similarity between the world of AI in the twenty-first century and the world during the time of Oppenheimer and the Cold War. About the author Lode Lauwaert is Professor of Philosophy of Technology at KU Leuven, where he holds the Chair in Ethics and AI. He was a visiting researcher in Boston, Stellenbosch, Vienna, and Hong Kong. He won the Science Communication Prize with his book 'We, Robots'. And further Read more about 'The Thought Line': https://www.humanistischverbond.be/in....