AI and the future of hush: the silenced voices in Oprah Winfrey's AI narrative

Do you think AI is overhyped, or wish people would start talking about it? If so, I'm afraid things are about to get much worse – it has officially entered the mainstream.

This week, Apple's CEO Tim Cook went to great lengths to only say Apple Intelligence instead of AI as he laid out a vision for 12 months of AI features.

If you missed the memo that AI was a big deal, an Oprah Winfrey Special appeared on our TV screens a few days later to discuss AI and the Future of Us. Teaser trailers saw the talk show queen warn audiences that Artificial Intelligence is here and added, "Life for all of us will be very different, and the stakes are too high for anyone to sit this one out."

The scene is set for AI to dominate conversations with grandparents over the dinner table on Thanksgiving and during the holiday season. If you winced upon hearing the line, "I'll create a GUI interface using Visual Basic. I will see if I can track an IP address," in CSI, you might get triggered, so we watched the Oprah Winfrey Special, so you don't have to.

AI and the Future of Us

Oprah's TV special conveniently dropped 24 hours after Bloomberg revealed that OpenAI was preparing for equity finance that would lead to a $150 billion valuation. Many criticized the guestlist of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and technology reviewer Marques Brownlee, who could be accused of financially benefiting from AI rather than offering any warnings about its dangers.

1/ Hi @Oprah . This event will be the first time many people will get info on Generative Ai. However it is shaping up to be a misinformed marketing event staring vested interests (some who are under a litany of lawsuits) who ignore the harms GenAi inflicts on communities NOW 🧵 pic.twitter.com/ykF9MWne4G

undefined Karla Ortiz (@kortizart) August 30, 2024

Oprah recently claimed in a promotional interview, "I don't think we should be scared; I think we should be disciplined, and we should honor it and have a reverence for what is to come and respect it."

Tensions were high before the show aired. However, OpenAI's Sam Altman tackled the thorny safety issues and how they worked daily with the government, potentially helping shape regulation. On society's increasing fears about AI's impacts on their livelihoods, Altman advised, "The bottom line for most people is whether or not you can trust the people who are in charge."

"The best thing we can do is to put this technology in the hands of people and talk about what it's capable of, what it's not, and what we think is going to come." – Sam Altman

Tech influencer Marques Brownlee, who has 20 million subscribers, was on hand to explain deep fakes and set off a few alarm bells. This perfectly set the scene for FBI Director Christopher Wray, who was also on hand to speak of concerns about AI-related crimes, leaving many questioning if this could raise a surveillance landgrab opportunity for authorities.

Bill Gates was happy to lift the mood with a vision of how AI could transform the world of education and medicine, areas which he's passionate about and conveniently invested in. But it took 50 minutes until American novelist Marilynne Robinson addressed the elephant in the room and warned about the dangers of having too much power concentrated in too few hands.

When asked what concerns her the most, Robinson replied, "I'm afraid that there will be so much investment of every kind into this project that it will have its consequences before it deserves them.

Robinson also warned that we could see cutting back on employment anticipating this insurgence of AI. But if it's a bad project, it could be more dangerous than it is valuable. She warned that we could end up with a disrupted economy on the one hand and an unusable technology on the other.

A carefully orchestrated narrative

The big issues currently surrounding AI bias were largely sidestepped in the interviews. But rather than discussing the accountability and responsibility of how humans control their inventions, it felt more like we should bow down to our AI overlords.

However, the most common theme repeated throughout Oprah's TV special was that AI is almost a living, breathing thing outside of our control, which Mozilla quickly responded to online.

"Artificial intelligence is still beyond our control and, to a great extent, our understanding, but it is here."

Well, that was interesting! #Oprah says AI is still beyond our control and our understanding. Not quite — it's a human invention within human control, and open source is helping us understand how it works every day 🙌 https://t.co/CWwzsgjqec

undefined Mozilla (@mozilla) September 13, 2024

The arrival of celebrities and influencers means that AI has officially reached the top of the hype cycle and entered the mainstream. It's also a timely reminder of how, during the California gold rush, few prospectors made their fortunes panning for gold. It was those selling supplies and shovels that were making all the cash.

The AI and the Future of Us TV Special arguably consisted of wealthy and influential individuals positioning themselves as AI gatekeepers promoting a carefully orchestrated narrative. But where were the voices of those impacted, and who benefits from the oversight of big tech? And how much of this narrative is about progress, and how much is a good old-fashioned power grab?

🚨🇺🇸 OPRAH'S AI SPECTACLE: ELITES ANGLE FOR CONTROL

Oprah Winfrey's recent AI special, undefinedAI and the Future of Us,undefined showcased tech leaders and officials seemingly positioning themselves as AI gatekeepers.

OpenAI's Sam Altman pushed for government safety testing, potentially… pic.twitter.com/f9jUAxEtO7

undefined Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) September 13, 2024

Big tech's free pass: where were the tough questions?

Oprah advised that "Life for all of us is about to be very different," without addressing the environmental impact of AI or how big tech trained large language models using copyrighted material without license or owner permission. It also failed to challenge Sam Altman's belief that everything online is fair game because creating AI tools like ChatGPT without copyrighted material is impossible.

This is really disappointing @Oprah and frankly a bit irresponsible to have a one-sided conversation on AI without informed counterarguments from those impacted.

Just a paid for marketing opportunity for those deeply invested in it.

https://t.co/B0uMIwmlQA

undefined Theo (@tprstly) August 30, 2024

Although the Oprah special was aimed as a Layman's guide to artificial intelligence, there was way too much fawning over the tech that could potentially destroy the livelihoods of those watching. Instead of warnings about the powers of algorithms, everything was "transformative," "revolutionary," and "mind-blowing."

What should have been an excellent opportunity for a bigger discussion turned into a big tech propaganda piece from Oprah and her billionaire friends. The only thing missing was Oprah, excitedly shouting, You get free advertising! You get free advertising! Everybody working in AI gets free advertising!