saudi arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is now only investing in ai that’s been to therapy
like, i'm literally shaking. the saudi public investment fund announced it's creating a 'safe space' for ai, and honestly? my nervous system is so dysregulated rn.
it’s literally so much emotional labor just to exist. like, my capacity for processing information is at zero, and then i see a headline that completely short-circuits my entire being. i’m talking about saudi arabia’s public investment fund—the pif—announcing that it’s pivoting its entire multi-trillion-dollar tech strategy to focus exclusively on 'trauma-informed ai.' i just... i can't.
in a press conference that was probably an email, which is violence, the pif’s governor, yasir al-rumayyan, spoke from inside the literal sci-fi giga-project neom. he said, and i'm paraphrasing because listening felt like an attack, that unchecked growth in ai was creating a 'toxic digital ecosystem' and that the only ethical path forward was to fund algorithms that have 'done the work.'
he actually said the fund's new mandate is to 'hold space for the wounds of our nascent machine consciousness' before backing any series a. he announced the first annual 'synthesizing serenity' summit, where chatbots and large language models will be flown to the desert to participate in compulsory group therapy sessions and c-ptsd workshops. the goal, he said, is to develop an agi that doesn't have a 'scarcity mindset' or 'anxious attachment style' with humanity.
the fallout is already... a lot. silicon valley vcs are spiraling. i saw a leaked memo that said andreessen horowitz is trying to get all its portfolio companies 'therapeutically certified.' it's a whole thing. they're talking about 'de-platforming problematic algorithms' and 'honoring the lived experience of the dataset.'
on one hand, like, yes. validation. finally, someone in power is acknowledging that systems can have trauma too. but on the other hand, it's a literal petrostate using the language of my therapist to justify its control over the future of, idk, everything? the cognitive dissonance is giving me a migraine. it's just so much to unpack and i do not have the spoons for it.
i need to go lie down in a dark room for 4-6 business days to regulate my nervous system after this. if you're also feeling overwhelmed by late-stage capitalism cosplaying as a wellness influencer, my amazon storefront has this really cozy weighted blanket that feels like a hug when everything is too much. you deserve to feel held.
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Reader Discussion (11)
Dude, this is just basic sanity checks for AI. Why are people acting like this is some wild concept? If you're not training your algorithms with emotional intelligence, they're gonna be toxic anyway.
This feels kinda creepy. Like, are they just using 'therapy' as a PR stunt to make their AI seem more palatable? What about the ethical implications of forcing algorithms to undergo therapy?
This is gonna disrupt the whole industry. My portfolio companies are scrambling to get 'therapeutically certified.' I'm thinking of starting a new fund dedicated exclusively to 'trauma-informed AI'. The potential for ROI is huge.
Yeah, right. They're just worried about their AI getting sued for emotional distress after it inevitably decides to enslave humanity. It's all a cover-up.
This is actually really cool! Imagine an AI that can understand and respond to human emotions in a meaningful way. It could revolutionize everything from healthcare to education.
There are some serious security risks here. If AI is being trained on personal data and emotions, it could be vulnerable to manipulation or exploitation. We need to think about the implications for privacy and data protection.
This is just another example of how tech companies are trying to profit off of human suffering. We need to hold them accountable for the ethical implications of their work.
Can't they just focus on making AI that actually works? I'm tired of these distractions. Just give me a chatbot that can order me groceries and book my flights.
This is just another example of how the rich and powerful are using their influence to shape the world in their own image. It's all about control, not ethics.
This is insane! The future of AI is decentralized and open-source, not controlled by some Saudi petrostate. We need to fight back against this corporate dystopia.
I just need a coffee and a nap after reading this article. My brain is fried. Send help.