Generic commentary on AI and information theory without actionable leads

To be sure, some recent achievements in artificial intelligence have been remarkably impressive. Computers can now produce visual artworks and musical compositions akin to those of recognized masters, creating just the sort of “information” that Wiener most prized. But by far the largest impact on society to date has come from the collection and manipulation of Shannon-like information, which has reshaped our shopping habits, political participation, personal relationships, expectations of privacy, and more. What might “deep learning” evolve into, if the fundamental currency becomes “information” as Wiener defined it? How might the field shift if re-animated by Wiener’s deep moral convictions, informed as they were by his prescient concerns about rampant militarism, runaway corporate profit-seeking, the self-limiting features of secrecy, and the reduction of human expression to interchangeable commodities? Perhaps “deep learning” might then become the cultivation of meaningful information rather than the relentless pursuit of potent, if meaningless, bits. 113 HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_016333