What If We Got AI Right? by Eleanor Drage review – avoiding apocalypse

2026-07-27 · Source: AI (artificial intelligence) | The Guardian · Field: Technology & Digital — Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Emerging Technologies & Innovation · Depth: Fundamental Awareness, short

Summary

Eleanor Drage's book, "What If We Got AI Right?", reviewed as an ambitious guide to AI ethics, argues that understanding AI's "humanity" as a product of human labor is crucial to wrest power from tech companies. Drage, a senior research fellow at the University of Cambridge's Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, contends that big tech's utopian or apocalyptic narratives distract from practical AI safety conversations and serve narrow interests, often overshadowing critical issues like climate change and inequality. She criticizes AI algorithms for perpetuating biases, tech giants for lacking genuine ethics, and the unconsented rollout of AI without considering planetary health. However, the review notes weaknesses in Drage's arguments, such as rushed claims about labor force shifts and a dismissal of unconscious bias. Her proposed ethical, community-based AI examples, like the Mumkin app for FGM and Kuini chatbot for Māori women, are described as underwhelming, leaving the reader questioning AI's specific value in these endeavors and how it can truly build a better future.

Key takeaway

If you are a policy maker or AI ethicist weighing future AI regulation, recognize that AI is fundamentally a product of human labor, not a mystical force. Scrutinize big tech's utopian or apocalyptic narratives, which often divert attention from practical safety measures and power imbalances. Prioritize initiatives that empower your citizens over their data and AI model training, and connect AI risks to existing societal challenges like climate change and inequality, rather than treating them in isolation.

Key insights

Recognizing AI as a product of human labor, not a mystical entity, is key to ethical development and countering big tech's narratives.

Principles

• AI is a human-made product, not a mystical entity.
• Big tech narratives often obscure practical AI safety.
• AI risks connect to broader societal problems.

Method

Drage co-designed a toolkit to help AI companies act ethically and comply with EU regulations, shifting focus to how AI is built.

In practice

• Understand AI's human labor origins to counter hype.
• Prioritize citizen power in data use and AI model training.

Topics

• AI Ethics
• AI Governance
• Algorithmic Bias
• Data Labor
• Tech Regulation
• AI Societal Impact

Best for: AI Ethicist, Policy Maker, General Interest

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by AI (artificial intelligence) | The Guardian.