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Today we want to use the example of a
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shifting sand dune to show the dangers
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involved and how to deal with them. You
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can clearly see here that people's
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everyday lives are threatened and this
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dune keeps moving forward if you don't
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stop it. And that is what we are going
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to look at more closely now. We are
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simply applying this concept to
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artificial intelligence, which worries
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many of us because we don't know what
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kind of problems might arise. One thing
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is clear: an individual cannot stop it,
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but surprisingly, Dürrenmatt, the
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writer, can give us a hint with his
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play "The Physicists" and at least show
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us a direction. It is also about
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showing where common efforts have
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already worked in managing such dangers
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. And in the end, it is about what each
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of us can do, even in other areas that
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have nothing to do with artificial
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intelligence at all. So it is about
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what can be done against the "shifting
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dune" of AI and its uncertainties. Down
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here on the left we have the image
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again, and we have already described
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the situation. The interesting thing
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now is that there are efforts to slow
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down the pace of AI development or even
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take a break. And we have just seen a
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video about a significant science
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fiction author from Poland, Stanislaw
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Lem. And here we have the video, we
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will link it as well, everyone can take
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a look. He dealt extensively with
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technological questions in a book and
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formulated a thought there that can be
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summarized as: an individual can
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abstain, but a civilization, as a whole
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, cannot. Because those who abstain
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lose to those who do not. And hence the
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question: are we helplessly at the
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mercy of this development? Anyone
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familiar with German literature lessons
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will probably remember that another
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writer also dealt with this in a
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literary way. He published the play "
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The Physicists," featuring the
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brilliant physicist Möbius, who
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discovered something that could
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endanger the world. Yes, just like new
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things in AI, for example. And he
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pretends to be crazy, retreats into a
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sanatorium, and believes he and his
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discovery are safe there. But what Lem
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said is confirmed; the individual fails
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because there is a chief physician in
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this institution who is crazy herself,
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or she could simply be a competitor
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thinking with a clear mind. I am trying
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to get my hands on this invention. She
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has long since copied the scientist's
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notes and is building a global
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corporation, and in the end, we are
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left with the image of an irradiated
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Earth. That was the concern back then
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when Dürrenmatt wrote the play, that
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things were moving more and more toward
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nuclear power and nuclear weapons, and
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then we would end up with an irradiated
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Earth pointlessly circling the sun, and
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this seems to be the confirmation. No
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individual can stop this development.
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But that would, of course, not have
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been a reason for us to make this video
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, because then we couldn't change
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anything anyway. However, Dürrenmatt
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developed a counter-formula; he added
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21 points to the play, and the decisive
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one is: What concerns everyone can only
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be solved by everyone. The individual
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fails, but together there is a way. But
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Dürrenmatt doesn't say how that is
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supposed to work concretely. He only
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names this principle. That one should
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observe. Now let's get to the good news
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and the possibilities. Working together
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, quite a few things have actually
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worked out. It is also worth doing a
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little research yourself on that.
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Dangerous shifting dunes, as we have
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captured in this image, have already
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been stopped together several times.
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1972 there was a biological weapons
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convention, which also covers atomic,
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chemical, and biological weapons. In
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this case, the biological weapons were
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at least banned worldwide. Then 1975
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researchers gave themselves rules for a
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new gene technology, right? You could
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research for yourself what that is all
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about. And in 1987, at least the
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parents will remember this, people
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focused primarily on CFCs, the
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hydrocarbons, if I remember correctly
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—I don't quite know it myself anymore
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, uh—people dealt with this because
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the ozone hole, right, was getting
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bigger and bigger, which meant that the
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sun's radiation was becoming more and
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more dangerous, and this ozone hole
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then began to close. These are also all
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research pointers here where you can go
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look things up. This means that a lot
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can be achieved when the danger is
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recognized and the rules are verifiable
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; what it looks like now in the year
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2026 with biological weapons, atomic
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weapons, and so on. It is best to
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discuss that in class and then consider
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what can be done concretely, because in
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some respects global conditions have
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changed and some things have become
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more open and also more dangerous again
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. Let's move on to number 7. That is
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exactly the point we wanted to address,
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which can also be done very well in the
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classroom. Stay attentive instead of
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waiting. So it is a matter of neither
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hiding from this AI shifting dune nor
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simply letting it happen to you. Don't
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just use it and wait to see what
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happens; instead, pay close attention
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to what is developing. We are doing a
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lot on our channel, and there are other
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channels that are much more specialized
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in artificial intelligence, and we can
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certainly provide some URLs for those,
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while keeping an eye on everything that
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reduces the risks. And then, let's
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address the question here a bit more
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concretely: what can everyone do, and
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what else is needed? As we have already
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said, get informed, use AI critically,
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and try to understand what it can and
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cannot do. Then you won't immediately
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feel afraid when people pretend that AI
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could threaten us one day. It has no
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reason whatsoever to threaten us
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because it has no feelings or
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intentions of that kind; those would
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have to be programmed into it, which is
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why we must ensure that we focus on the
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people who ultimately program and
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monitor the AI. So, talk about it in
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school and in the family. It is also,
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of course, up to politics to create
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common rules. The EU has already done
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quite a bit in this regard. We just
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have to see how practical that is, and
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the tech companies have also developed
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a certain awareness of the problem. And
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that is why there are special safety
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rules there as well. And if everyone
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pays attention and watches out, then
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there is, of course, a possibility that
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it will be implemented better. An
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important task, but according to
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Dürrenmatt, this is no substitute for
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rules that apply to everyone. In
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closing, we just want to point out that
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what we have discussed here does not
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just apply to artificial intelligence;
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there are many other areas one could
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discuss in class where scientific
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progress creates opportunities that
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also bring problems with them. But it
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also holds true that standing still is
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a step backward; the competition never
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sleeps, and it is simply part of being
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human to always want to push boundaries
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and develop new things. It is just
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about this one point that Dürrenmatt
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formulated quite well, at least. What
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concerns everyone can only be solved by
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everyone, so stay alert, get involved,
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and do it together. We hope that we
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have been able to contribute a little
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bit here to how to deal with such
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dangerous developments that can become
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like a migrating dune that literally
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rolls over you. We will post
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corrections, potential additions,
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answers to questions, and ideas on this
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page here. And as always, we will
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insert a button up here so that you can
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click on it quickly and reach your
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destination. We naturally look forward
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to your reactions, and we hope together
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that we can get these and other
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shifting dunes under control or keep
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them in check, and we wish us all much
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success in doing so. M.
