The Baltimore bridge tragedy is a solemn reminder of how a confluence of unexpected events have unintended and almost unimaginable consequences.
Humans have been using large ships for decades. Yes, their size has grown significantly over the last 20 years, but all of the operating principles for safely steering a vessel have been in place for many decades.
Knowing the dangers they pose, cargo ships have significant safety regulations too numerous to list here. Among them, captains familiar with local channels are required to navigate the ship through relatively small port channels. Cargo ships also have their own backup generators to ensure that if primary power is lost that the captain can continue to stay on course. Unfortunately, these were not enough to avoid the loss of life and a bridge in Baltimore.
These redundancies and regulations are either created by negative past experiences or engineers with imaginations for what could go wrong. Following the Baltimore disaster, it is highly likely that the federal government will issue additional cargo ship regulations that seek to address any identified shortcomings.
If such accidents can happen with physical objects that we have been studying for decades (if not centuries), is it possible there could be significant accidents in the digital world that could lead to unintended tragedies?
While artificial intelligence (AI) certainly has its benefits, have the relatively inexperienced programmers accounted for every past AI misstep and fully imagined all potential AI pitfalls? In the wrong hands, could AI developed to make the world better enable ill-motivated people, organizations, or countries to more effectively disrupt innocent peoples’ everyday lives?
AI is far too powerful a force for good to put back in the box. However, it also poses additional risks for the future that I don’t believe we can even begin to comprehend at this point in history. Time will tell.
This may be a somewhat disconcerting thought, but the truth is these uncertainties, risks, and challenges have existed throughout our lives. Our country’s capitalistic economic structure creates motivation for people to constantly improve, provide a better product or service, and take chances.
Over time, this economically motivated creativity has created the highest standard of living in the entire world since the beginning of time. Our country certainly is far from perfect, but this little experiment of combining a capitalistic economy with a republican form of government has gone pretty well thus far.
Imperfections, accidents, and tragedies are inevitable in life and heal over time. How you react to them can set the path for your future. We exist to help our clients plan for their futures, adapt to life’s challenges, and build a better tomorrow for their families.
Quote of the week: Randy Barnett: “Capitalism is the philosophy of ‘what can I give you that you want more than something you have that I want.’ . . . . Capitalism is other-regarding.”
Graphic Credit: Stock photo ID:1452604857 Credit: Shutthiphong Chandaeng