Oh, man.

What I saw aptly described as the “AI hate wave” – maybe make that tsunami – has just begun to hit the shore of humanity. Where it will lead, how much it will help or hurt our future is impossible to tell.

I’m not Catholic, but the pope today talked at great length in his 44,000-word encyclical of the tradeoffs, the good and caution we need to use when we think about or act upon the latest big villain of The Blame Society: Artificial Intelligence. But the headlines focused on the negative – because that draws the clicks, not the subtle mix of reality.

So amid the loud boos at commencement speakers, polls that put numbers to the AI fear and hatred many instinctively feel about things they can barely comprehend, much less fully understand, I spotted this tonight (or rather, my YouTube algorithm placed it before me):

And of course, the comments are just what you’d expect – which could be boiled down to: “HELL NO, WE WON’T GO (AI). KILL THE MONSTER THAT THREATENS ALL OF HUMANITY!”

Some even point to sci-fi movies, etc. What part of “fiction” don’t they understand?

I picture the torch-bearing mob approaching Dr. Frankenstein’s castle, where the Bad Doctor dared to piece together pieces of a human like so many car parts or plumbing. And of course, the Monster lived up – make that down – to their expectations.

(I prefer Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein version – even if it was more funny than Abby Normal!;-)

I’ve been reviving a couple small subreddits recently, to get a feel for moderation on this most human and universal of platforms (name the TV show, there’s a “sub” for that.)

You can only imagine how many AI-related ‘subs’ there are, but the deeper, less fractious discussions are inviting to me.

I often say we’re wasting so much time and energy trying to discern if this article/posting, that song or the video in our face and eyes is “real” or AI-created.

When the real question should be: Is it any good or not?

As if one can really tell what’s AI – and even if you think you can “always tell,” and as if how such a test fares today – and they usually fail – doesn’t mean it won’t be getting dramatically better and hard to tell tomorrow, or soon.

When I post comments on the touchy topic, I try to be consistent, restrain myself and not be driven by emotion, of the defensive or offensive tones.

To discuss or debate, not to “win” an argument. To try to get precious, open-minded folks to at least hear if not seriously consider both … make that all sides of this crucial discussion amid the supersonic speed of AI “progress.”

Or politicians, profiteers and others likely will use it as the biggest target ever of our Blame Society. And that usually works, for them – not for the rest of us.

I love mind-expanding information that makes me go “wow” or just goes way beyond my understanding – think black holes, dark matter and … sure … God.

So this 12-minute TED talk ignited the usual firestorm of opposition. What’s the old saying: “My mind is made up, don’t confuse me with the facts”?

Nothing in life – well, almost nothing – is all good, or all bad. There are tradeoffs, unintended consequences and devilish, messy details. Regulations and guardrails that sort of work, but don’t. Efforts at rational, civil discussions and that hardest thing of all to attain – compromise.

It’s truly ironic that at the code foundation of the tech waves I’ve enjoyed riding (mostly!) for some 50 years are binary digits – ones and zeroes. Because … good luck finding many folks who see beyond the black or white and embrace the grays, the messy middle.

We don’t need new things to sue over or create rules about – the lawyers and the politicians “always win,” anyway.

What was it that Joan Rivers used to say? Oh yeah: “Can we talk?”

We’d sure better – not scream, shout or yell personal attacks. Or just maybe … AI robots will “defeat” us. Whatever that means. Rather than help us make amazing things happen.

Not either-or. Not yet. But that tsunami is hard to ignore.