Mohammed Qahtani, the 2015 world champion of public speaking who overcame stuttering, gave a famous speech called “The Power of Words” (see link in comments). It got me thinking about AI.

I noted some parallels below:

• Making things up confidently – Qahtani said, “The leading cause of lung cancer is not actually a cigarette. It’s your DNA.” He made it up, but his friends believed him. AI can also sound very sure when hallucinating.

• Positivity bias – Qahtani showed how positive words change behavior: “Sweetie, come here. Don’t do that, you’re a big boy now”. AI often tries to be nice and encouraging, which can be powerful but might not always reflect reality or be critical enough.

• Trusting without questioning – Qahtani warned, “If you’re someone who is looked up to, who is admired, anything you say… can be considered as truth”. Many people treat AI the same way, believing what it says without checking.

• Making it personal – Qahtani shared how his friend’s life changed after his father said, “You’re a loser”. AI adapts its responses to each user, which could deeply affect people.

• Two sides of the coin – Qahtani ended by saying, “Your mouth can spit venom or it can mend a broken soul”. AI can also spread harmful misinformation or give helpful insights.

As AI becomes more common, we need to think carefully about what it tells us, just like we do with people. With great power comes great responsibility. How can we use AI safely? What are some rules that you’ve put in place?

For your reference, here are 10 ways to doublecheck AI’s work: https://lnkd.in/gMN2Em_G

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