Alex Bates: At The Intersection Of Artificial Intelligence And Humanity

The author discusses a future where Humans and AI comingle

As an intrepid explorer of our digital future, the angel investor, mathematician, neuroscientist, and author Alex Bates entered fully into the public consciousness as the co-founder of Mtelligence (Mtell), whose machine learning platform was created to “harness the deluge of sensor data in the industrial IoT, with a mission to create a world that doesn’t break down.”

Since the 2016 acquisition of Mtell by Aspen Technology, Bates has spearheaded Neocortex Ventures, uniting innovative business thinkers with the AI development community to achieve an abundant future where AI and human intelligence combine to elevate humanity’s potential for a safer, better, happier world.

“One of the key reasons I wrote the book ‘Augmented Mind’ is to alert everyone in the AI community and related stakeholders about what I see as a coming transition,” he explained. “I put ideas out into the world like a radar ping. It’s exciting to see what pings back.”

“Now that we are on the front lines of AI, building AI systems, deploying them, and working on the adoption side with all the people that are using and interacting with them, we have a real perspective on the strengths and weaknesses of AI and humans. Despite the negative narratives we were hearing from Hollywood and the media, it’s become clear that these things are highly complementary.

“We have the potential to elevate our thinking and our lives in all kinds of creative ways. I saw the conversation steering more towards either apocalyptic doomsday thinking, which I think is an oversimplification from a job loss perspective. This happens with any new technology, like innovations in farm labor technology, for example.