The Challenges
Humanity has always faced challenges. In the hyper-connected technological world of today, however, dealing with them is more complicated than it used to be even a few decades ago. Of the many challenges the leaders and citizens of the present and future will face, some, like climate change, are already happening (1). Human nature being what it is, wars will be something to deal with for the foreseeable future. In a world where global travel is easy and relatively cheap, pandemics and epidemics are almost certain. Then there are challenges that are much less likely but would precipitate epochal changes if they were to occur, like an impending large asteroid impact or the discovery of intelligent extraterrestrial life. And there could be others that we cannot even imagine now. But there are two that, in our view, are the most important – and the most dangerous: misinformation (along with its more toxic cousin disinformation) and artificial intelligence.
​Misinformation and disinformation. The world is awash in information, freely available to anyone who wants it through traditional media outlets and social media. On social media, information can easily be shared with others. On the face of it, this would seem to be a good thing. After all, a well-informed public is essential for a healthy and adaptive society, isn’t it?
       Yes, it is. But there is a problem: Much of the information so readily available and spreadable is just not true. Some of it is misinformation, coming from a source that doesn’t realize it is false. More troubling is disinformation, which comes from a source that is intentionally putting out untruths for some ulterior motive. Both complicate dealing with all the other challenges we face now or will face in the future in potentially catastrophic ways, because they can corrupt and confuse the information used by leaders and the public to shape their views of the challenges. That is why in our opinion, this challenge supersedes all the rest​.

Artificial intelligence. AI runs a close second. It could even take first place if it becomes, as some experts fear, an existential threat to humanity (2, 3). That would be a significant challenge indeed. But that day has not arrived… yet. For now, AI is an essential tool in medicine and a variety of other fields (4, 5). But the challenge that puts it this high on our list is that it is also playing an increasing role in generating and propagating disinformation in the form of deep fakes and other forms of synthetic media (though to be fair it can also play a role in combating the problem (6)).  And the availability online of large language models, like ChatGPT, Claude, and others, makes this potentially insidious feature of AI accessible to anyone.
Our society can deal best with misinformation, disinformation, artificial intelligence, and any other challenges we may face if it consists of an educated citizenry that is willing to learn and to think. That is where we believe our vision for The Joe Berg Seminars can help.
1. Calvin, Katherine, Dipak Dasgupta, Gerhard Krinner, Aditi Mukherji, Peter W. Thorne, Christopher Trisos, José Romero, et al. “IPCC, 2023: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, H. Lee, and J. Romero (Eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland.” First. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), July 25, 2023. https://doi.org/10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647.​
2. Roose, Kevin. “A.I. Poses ‘Risk of Extinction,’ Industry Leaders Warn.” The New York Times, May 30, 2023, sec. Technology. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/30/technology/ai-threat-warning.html.
3. “Statement on AI Risk | CAIS.” Accessed August 11, 2023. https://www.safe.ai/statement-on-ai-risk.
4. GiniMachine. “10 Fields That Use Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning,” April 14, 2022. https://ginimachine.com/blog/fields-that-use-artificial-intelligence/.
5. “Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Public Health: Prospects and Challenges Beyond the Pandemic | Blogs | CDC,” March 1, 2022. https://blogs.cdc.gov/genomics/2022/03/01/artificial-intelligence-2/.
6. Bontridder, Noémi, and Yves Poullet. “The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Disinformation.” Data & Policy 3 (January
2021): e32. https://doi.org/10.1017/dap.2021.20.
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