AI denial is the real risk

In this episode of Education Futures, we welcome Louis Rosenberg — technologist, entrepreneur, and long-time researcher in virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence.Louis has spent decades building technologies designed to augment human intelligence and warning about the risks when we fail to understand what we are building.In this conversation, we focus on a phenomenon Louis has recently written extensively about: AI denial: society’s tendency to underestimate AI’s capabilities as a way of avoiding an uncomfortable truth.We explore:Why dismissing AI as “just slop” or “just autocomplete” is dangerously outdatedHow AI systems are becoming cognitive rivals, not just toolsWhy humans are especially vulnerable to anthropomorphizing conversational AIThe concept of asymmetric relationships between humans and AIWhy photorealistic, conversational AI represents a new and far more powerful form of influenceHow AI may reshape education, work, relationships, and childhood itselfWhat skills children actually need to develop in a world of rapid, continuous changeWhy banning AI in schools is not a solution — but neither is naïve adoptionLouis argues that we are repeating the same mistake we made with social media: regulating yesterday’s risks while ignoring tomorrow’s.He also shares a radically different vision for AI’s future — inspired by swarm intelligence and biomimicry — where AI is used not to replace humans, but to connect groups of people into collective intelligence, keeping human values, judgment, and responsibility at the center.This episode is a call to move beyond fear and denial — and to educate the next generation with clarity, realism, and agency.📚 Essential reading — Louis Rosenberg on AI denialThese recent articles are directly referenced in the conversation and provide crucial context:https://bigthink.com/the-present/the-rise-of-ai-denialism/https://venturebeat.com/technology/ai-denial-is-becoming-an-enterprise-risk-why-dismissing-slop-obscures-realhttps://bigthink.com/the-future/what-happens-the-day-after-humans-create-agi/