Give Every AI a Soul--or Else

Mavens in the field of artificial intelligence, including architects of notorious "generative AI" systems like ChatGPT, now publicly express shared dread of terrible outcomes that might be wrought by their own creations. Many now call for a moratorium, or pause in AI development, allowing time for existing nations and institutions to innovate systems of control. Amid the toppling of many clichéd assumptions, we've learned that so-called Turing tests are irrelevant, providing no insight at all into whether generative large language models--GLLMs or "gollems"--are actually sapient beings. Anyway, that distinction now appears less pressing than questions of good or bad--or potentially lethal--behavior. This essay is adapted from David Brin's nonfiction book in progress, Soul on Ai.