I asked my dear friend and a top leading expert on AI / Machine Learning law Justin Haan, what question SHOULD we be asking about ChatGPT, and the future of this field?
"Compared to what," he responded.
It was mind-blowing: Too often, we evaluate risk in a vacuum. We tend to compare a risk-bearing situation to an idealized, no-risk situation.
But there's always risk associated with maintaining the status quo; with doing nothing; with doing something else.
When evaluating the costs & benefits of any decision, we should always ask, "compared to what?"
This is as true about personal life, and career, as it is about technological innovation.
As Tim Ferriss once brilliantly wrote, "Most people will choose unhappiness over uncertainty." We should fight the urge to do that!