The rise of artificial intelligence denial
The rise of artificial intelligence denial
By Louis Rosenberg | Published: 2025-12-01 22:03:00 | Source: The Present – Big Think
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Over the past few months, we have witnessed a wave of skepticism around the phenomenon now referred to as the “AI boom.” The shift began when OpenAI released GPT-5 this summer to mixed reviewsmostly ordinary users. For months, we have witnessed breathless claims from pundits and influencers that the era of rapid AI progress is over, that scaling AI has hit a wall, and that the AI boom is just another technology bubble. These same voices overuse the phrase “AI slop” to disparage the amazing images, documents, videos, and code that AI models produce at the touch of a button.
I find this perspective ridiculous and dangerous.
By any objective measure, AI continues to improve at an astonishing pace. The stunning jump in capabilities achieved by Gemini 3 in November is the latest example of this. No, the AI metric is not up to par. In fact, I can’t think of another technology that has advanced so quickly at any time in my lifetime, and I started programming in 1982. The computer on my desk today runs thousands of times faster and has a million times more memory than my first computer, A. TRS-80 Model III), however, the rate of advancement of AI today makes me dizzy.
So why did the public cling to the narrative that AI was malfunctioning, and that the result was so? slopeAnd that the AI boom is just another technology bubble lacking justifiable use cases? I think it’s because society is collectively entering the first stage of grief – denial — about the very scary possibility that we humans might soon lose our lives Cognitive superiority to artificial systems. Believe me, I know this future is hard to accept. I’ve been writing about Destabilization And the depressing dangers of superintelligence for more than a decade, and I feel exhausted by the changes that are accelerating towards us.
Unprecedented developments
Why does the progress of AI look so different from other technologies? Eighty-two years ago, philosopher Ayn Rand wrote these three simple sentences: “Man cannot live except with his mind. He comes to earth defenseless. His mind is his only weapon.” To me, these words sum up our self-image as humans – the super-intelligent species we are. This is the basis of our success and survival. However, we can soon find ourselves Intellectually superior With widely available AI models that can out-think us on all fronts, solving problems infinitely faster, more accurately, and yes, More creative Than any human being can.
I confirm Creatively Because a common theme among AI deniers is the insistence that some human capabilities will never be rivaled by machines. The two abilities most often cited in this regard are “creativity” and “emotional intelligence.” Unfortunately, there is no evidence that AI will not outperform us in these areas. In fact, there is growing evidence that the opposite is likely true.
On the creativity front, there’s no doubt that today’s AI models can produce content faster and more diverse than any human. The primary argument against AI being “creative” is the belief that this is true Creativity requires internal motivationAnd not just the production of new antiques. I appreciate this argument, but I find it circular because it defines the process based on how we experience it, not based on the qualitative value of the output. In addition, we have little reason to believe that AI systems will lack motivation – we simply do not know whether the AI will experience it or not. Intentions Through an inner sense of self as humans do.
As a result, many researchers say that AI will only be good Imitating human creativity instead of presence He – she. This may turn out to be true. But if AI can produce authentic work that rivals or surpasses most humans, it will still take away jobs and opportunities on a massive scale; Just ask any commercial artist. There is also an argument that AI systems only create derivative works based on human artifacts. This is a fair point, but it also applies to humans: we all stand on the shoulders of others, and our work is affected by everything we consume. I believe AI is moving towards a similar form of creativity – societal impact mixed with random sparks of inspiration, and it will happen at breakneck speeds and scales.
On the emotional intelligence front, I’m equally unsure that humans would have an advantage. It is very likely that artificial intelligence systems will soon be able to “read” you more accurately than anyone else. They will make it through Define exact expressions On your face, in your voice, in your stance, in your look, and even in your breathing. This will enable AI assistants to infer your inner feelings faster and more accurately than is humanly possible. Meanwhile, AI assistants (which you’ll carry on your phone or wear in your glasses) will be able to monitor your emotional reactions throughout your day and Build predictive models of your behavior. Unless strictly regulated, which seems increasingly unlikely, this will enable AI assistants and other intelligent agents to do just that. Influencing you with extraordinary skill.
Asymmetric dynamic
This is often referred to as “The problem of artificial intelligence manipulationShe points out that the skill we refer to as “emotional intelligence” It may not give us a cognitive advantage over artificial intelligence. In fact, this can be our greatest weakness, a creation Asymmetric dynamic Where artificial intelligence systems will be able to read us Super accurateWhile we cannot read artificial intelligence at all. When you talk to a real-life AI agent (as most people do It is likely that(And, more often than not), you’ll be staring at an animated interface that can smile sweetly and appear sympathetic or understanding, inspiring you to feel confident and well-meaning. This is a pure illusion, but it can easily be done Influencing your thoughts and behaviors. What’s worse is that we have no defense against them, and neither do our emotional reactions to faces Reflexive and visceralbuilt into us through millions of years of evolution on a planet where interactive human faces have always been truly human.
Like it or not, we will soon be living in a world where many of the faces we encounter will be generative masks worn by AI agents. However, we tell ourselves that AI is just another technological breakthrough. This is wishful thinking. The reason behind the high levels of investment (illusion We are Amazing) is that Artificial intelligence will soon inhabit all aspects of our livesthey are often personified as intelligent actors that we have to deal with throughout our day. These agents will be designed to help us, educate us, and yes, Impact on us. This will radically change how we work, how we learn, and how we socialize, and it will happen faster than we expect. Denial won’t stop this. In fact, denial makes it difficult for us to prepare for risks.
To put the rate of change into perspective, let’s go back five years and look at this A large-scale survey conducted on computer scientists In late 2019 and early 2020. Participants were asked to predict when AI would be able to generate native code to solve a problem. Specifically, they were asked to predict when AI would be able to “write concise, efficient, human-readable Python code to implement simple algorithms like Quicksort.” In the world of programming, students are taught how to do this as undergraduates, so this is not considered a particularly high standard. However, participants predicted that there was a 75% chance of this happening by 2033.
It turns out that artificial intelligence has advanced much faster than expected. Today, large language models can already write computer code at levels far beyond the question asked in the 2020 survey. This summer, for example, GPT-5 and Gemini 2.5 Pro participated in 2025 International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) Global Finals. The competition brings together programming teams from top universities to compete in solving complex algorithmic questions. GPT-5 came in firstBy defeating all human teams and achieving a perfect score. Gemini 2.5 Pro came in second place. However, we have countless influencers who refer to the outputs of AI systems themselves as “steep”.
Of course, current AI coding systems are not flawless, but today’s capabilities would have been unimaginable to most AI professionals just five years ago. We also cannot forget that human programmers are not flawless. Perfection is not the metric we use to judge software development. That’s why we have entire departments dedicated to testing and quality control. When humans do programming, it is always an iterative process where you expect to produce bugs, find bugs, and fix bugs. The same is true of many human endeavors. If you could read the first draft of any Pulitzer Prize-winning article, it would likely be full of flaws that would make the author recoil. This is how we humans produce high-quality work – iterative improvement – and yet we judge AI systems by completely different standards.
The fact is that today’s leading models are remarkably capable and are on the fast track to competing with human professionals in most fields. It will change how organizations operate, how governments operate, how science advances, how engineering is done, how militaries develop strategies, and how education is disseminated. And you will create too Terrifying new dangers Which we don’t address, such as the possibility of artificial intelligence manipulating individuals with extraordinary effectiveness. Whether we like it or not, Artificial intelligence will change everything.
In other words, we are not watching a bubble expand with stormy vapors. We are watching a planet being formed from churning magma, and it will solidify into a new framework for society. Denial will only leave us unprepared. This is not the AI bubble. This is real.
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