“When I behold the heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars that You have set in place—what is man that You are mindful of him…You made him ruler over the works of your hands; You put all things under his feet.” ~ Psalm 8 So often did my father quote this psalm, that by the age of 10, I could recite it by heart. As a citizen- scientist, I believe Daddy considered it a reminder that while humans are, but specks of dust compared with the vastness of the universe, that God gave us dominion over his creations, including the power to invent and innovate. Fact is that mankind has not always used its God-given gifts wisely, responsibly, and Daddy was so fascinated with nuclear science that he could describe the structure of the atom in infinite detail. However, as a humanitarian and peace lover, I cannot imagine he was happy when the nuclear bomb was invented and used. Daddy appreciated that automobile and jet travel enabled faster travel over longer distances than the horse-drawn carts and bicycles used by his generation. I recalled him pausing as he boarded the Pan Am jet for the first time. His sense of awe was palpable. Yet, I do not believe he would be happy to learn about the link between cars, automobiles, and climate change. Daddy died before the Internet entangled the world in its web. Doubtless, it has enabled us to quickly connect with each other, receive news, learn, be entertained, and be more productive. But sadly, it has pulled us apart and increased the spread of social ills such as pornography, identity theft and cybercrime. I remembered Daddy as I pondered the emerging tensions over “Artificial Intelligence” (AI). Most people would have used “Siri” or “Alexa” without much reservation. However, the explosive use of “generational” AI models, like ChatGPT, and its Chinese competitor, DeepSeek, has set off alarm bells across the world, driven by real fear, that if AI is not controlled, it could do more harm than good. Methinks that horse has already bolted. To borrow from “Star Trek” AI is boldly taking mankind where it has never gone before. Its inventors believe it will have a greater transformative impact than electricity. While this prediction excites some, many are fearful that the pace of change induced by AI will outstrip civilization’s understanding of it and its ability to adapt to it. Fifteen years or so, AI did not exist. Now, ChatGPT alone is used over FIVE BILLION times a month! Google alone has 23 massive data processing centres in the US that use brute-force computing power supplied by super-fast microchips, to analyze information stored on the internet to: write books and computer programmes, produce videos, create art, improve internet searches, troubleshoot computer systems failures, recognize images and voices, improve navigational tools used in self-driven cars, better analyze medical images and patient outcomes, discover new drugs, detect fraud, and deliver personalized banking services. On the surface, these are laudable uses. However, as a pioneer trade unionist, I believe Daddy would be deeply upset to learn that by 2030, AI will eliminate between 400 million and 800 million jobs, especially those involving repetitive, routine tasks, such as in manufacturing, logistics, basic administrative work, data entry and processing, and some customer service positions. The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates that about 83 million jobs could be eliminated globally by 2027, but that this loss would be partially offset by the creation of 69 million new jobs, resulting in a net loss of 14 million jobs in that period. However, these new jobs will likely not be created in areas where losses occurred. Those jobs that survive AI’s effects, will be “transformed.” It’s expected that workers will use AI to increase productivity and improve decision-making and creativity. However, workers must be re-skilled and upskilled to fill new jobs in technology, data literacy, critical thinking and problem-solving, emotional intelligence and interpersonal communication. This will require a total revamp of the education system across the Caribbean. Like all nature lovers, Daddy would be unhappy to learn that training the latest version of ChatGPT released as much carbon as a car would over its entire lifetime. Moreover, the massive amounts of water used to cool data centers is putting enormous pressure on already scarce water resources. Daddy abhorred all forms of discrimination. Consequently, he would be deeply displeased that AI systems could be trained to amplify biases that promote discrimination based on race, gender, age, or other factors. Given his fetish for fact and his healthy disdain for fakeness and falsehood, Daddy would have thrown a fit at the slew of AI-generated fabrications that hit personal devices every day. Recalling his life-long devotion to music, he would have supported the 400 British creative artistes, who, in a recent letter to UK PM, Sir Keir Starmer, insisted that AI threatens the UK's position as a creative powerhouse. The group wants the PM to amend the law to require AI developers to be transparent with copyright owners about using their material to train AI models. As an independent thinker, Daddy would be disturbed to know that in addition to thinking for us, machines are learning to think like us. Moreover, they can transfer knowledge gained from the specific area or task for which they were trained. Google’s “Bard” is leading that charge. Unlike other AI models that learn from information stored on the Internet, Bard is self-taught. It can summarize the Old Testament in 15 words in 5 seconds. At Google’s “Deep Mind” lab in the UK, robots are teaching themselves to play football. While they don’t yet have the dribbling and free-kick skills of Leo Messi, their goal scoring is far more prolific. AI will be as good or as bad as human nature allows. Clearly, laws that punish abuse and international treaties that make AI safe could not come quickly enough.