Ross Douthat

You already have people who have parasocial relationships with AI.

You have people who complain when models are retired.

And to be clear, I think that can be unhealthy.

Right.

But that is, it seems to me, that is guaranteed to increase in a way that

I think, calls into question the sustainability of what you said earlier, you want to sustain, right?

Which is this sense that whatever happens in the end, human beings are in charge, right?

and AI exists for our purposes, right?

To use the science fiction example, if you watch Star Trek, there are AIs on Star Trek.

The ship's computer is an AI.

Lieutenant Commander Data is an AI.

But Jean-Luc Picard is in charge of the Enterprise, right?

But if people become fully convinced that their AI is conscious in some way, and guess what?

It seems to be, you know, better than them at all kinds of decision-making.

How do you sustain...

human mastery beyond safety.

Safety is important, but mastery seems like the fundamental question.

And it seems like a perception of AI consciousness, doesn't that inevitably undermine

the human impulse to stay in charge?

Set aside whether they're conscious or not.