Chapter 3 AI’s Real Achilles Heel
CHAPTER THREE — AI’s Real Achilles Heel
Unethical behavior is the virus that can kill off all good works.
That is not a moral statement. It is a practical observation — and it is one of the most important things to understand about the future of AI.
We have spent enormous energy debating AI governance. Regulations, compliance frameworks, audits, moral advice — the machinery of external control grows more elaborate by the day. All of it assumes that the problem can be managed by external constraints.
It cannot.
Let's make a clear distinction. There are external constraints in any functioning society that influence conduct. The rules, regulations, enforcement, and moral codes that the environment brings to bear on the individual to constrain behavior. This is useful and practical. You don’t speed through a red light after a bottle of wine with dinner without consequences. But it is ultimately the personal decision --- is this right conduct or is this wrong conduct --- that truly guides behavior. Constraints are a practical tool but it is the personal ethical decision that an individual makes that ultimately determines whether outcomes are successful or ruinous.
Outside pressure can restrain behavior. Only the self-determined use of individual ethics can ensure ultimate success.
This is the layer that no governance framework addresses. No technology touches it. No moralizing handles it. No profession has claimed it as its territory — until now.
The real solution to the dangers of AI, then, is not just more regulation but also raising the ethics and responsibility levels of the user, and this must occur on a self-determined basis. A daunting task perhaps but a necessary one.
This giant large language calculating machine that computes with unimaginably vast amounts of data was never intended to be ethical or unethical. That is the user’s job.
In the more than 20,000 hours of direct one-on-one work with individuals, I learned something very interesting; I observed something consistently in virtually every person I worked with — with the rare exception of those who might genuinely be classified as sociopaths --- that every individual has an inherent sense of right and wrong and at a basic level wants to do what is right. When this is violated the person becomes his own executioner.
This matters enormously for AI, a technology that amplifies human capability but also amplifies the consequences of ethical failure. The more powerful the tool, the more critical becomes the ethics level of the hand that wields it. And this, by definition, must occur on a self-determined basis.
This cannot remain a philosophical abstraction. A practical framework is needed to do this — one that users would follow voluntarily because it makes obvious sense to do so. Here are five key points that could define a more ethical AI user.
1-The ability to observe clearly — not blindly accepting outputs but looking with one's own eyes and using one’s own judgment.
2-The ability to distinguish true data from falsehood and the ability to determine the source of the data — maintaining independent critical evaluation of what the system presents.
3-The ability to recognize consequences — foreseeing the downstream effects of actions taken with AI assistance.
4-The willingness to take responsibility for outcomes — owning the result rather than deferring blame to the tool.
5-The ability to act by choice rather than compulsion or manipulation — maintaining sovereignty over one's own decisions.
These are not abstract virtues. They are specific, trainable human capabilities. They can be developed. They can be learned. They can be strengthened. That is what this book is about.
DRILL THREE
1-Observe some objects and people. Look at an object --- perhaps a car or a piece of furniture and see what you see. Don’t discuss it with anyone just observe for yourself. --- color, size, old or new, dirty or clean. Now look at a person, observe things about them, do they look tired or energetic, is he or she dressed sloppily or neatly, what colors are they wearing, find something you like about them. The purpose of this simple drill is to just see what you see.
2-Recall a time you were told something negative about someone and you then met the person personally and you didn’t find the person so bad. Or recall a time you read something in the newspaper or online about something you knew about personally and what was said didn’t match what you knew.
3-Have a look at something you have done that caused some unwanted result. Have a look at something you did that caused a good affect on people or things.
4-Take a look at your life and see if there is any area you could take a bit more responsibility for and what effect that would create for yourself or others. Is there an area you are taking less responsibility than you should.
5- Look at whatever is playing on your TV or your smart phone or computer and very consciously get up and say I am going to change my mind and do something else and walk away from it and go observe something beautiful in the environment. That was an easy one and there are some tougher ones which will further rehabilitate your ability to think independently but that is for a later chapter.
There is a more complete set of drills for these attributes but this is a sample that I hope allows you to observe the existence of each of these factors.
Cognitive Sovereignty and The Mad Hatters of Silicon Valley is a work in progress. Chapters are being published as they are written. To follow along and receive each new chapter directly visit: www.thefirstdefinition.com Or reach Gary directly through the contact page.
