I found “The Tale of the Omega Team” to be a very interesting story that explores how the normalization of AI can simultaneously create a utopia and a dystopia. I think there are a number of lessons we can learn from the events depicted in this scenario.
One of the main themes this story highlights is the importance of human ethics. In the narrative, the Omega Team aims to achieve world domination, which entails pushing an agenda, even to the extent of bribing people. However, before they can do this, they start small, gradually building their way up by gaining public trust. The use and reliance on Prometheus then become normalized, well-trusted, and even capable of solving humanitarian problems that humans couldn’t. In some way, people allowed this AI to be placed on a pedestal, unknowingly manipulated into doing so. This created a utopian scenario where people seemed content with a more peaceful world under the control of one entity, resulting in a loss of autonomy.
The people in this society may believe they live in a utopia, but I see it as also being a dystopia. While AI surely increases efficiency and solves problems, it also cannot work beyond its available information. The Omega Team programmed Prometheus to learn from itself and the information available to it. However, this information is sourced from humans who have engineered everything from technology and art to discoveries; ultimately, the AI relies on humans to learn and offer suggestions. In the Omega story, Prometheus lacks consciousness and the ability to have its own thoughts, relying solely on programming and algorithms.
We may worry that someday AI will reach a level of intelligence where it becomes self-aware and desires to overtake humanity, but that’s quite a far reach. To avoid living in a dystopia with unforeseeable outcomes, as in Tegmark’s story, we should have limits on what AI is capable of, with careful monitoring and approval of its applications. I believe AI will surely become a part of our everyday lives, but limiting its involvement would be optimal.