On April 1, after students presented their ideas for AI-Assisted Experiences during ETC’s latest student challenge, a group of leading tech executive judges engaged the students in a spirited discussion of possibilities, opportunities and ethics related to artificial intelligence. Interactive Media and Game Design senior Toby Zhao and Universal Pictures’ Sherry Wong discussed the uses and limitations of AI in today’s creative process. Psychology graduate Erik Rollins asked whether the industry is thinking about how AI will influence society. Epic Games CTO Kim Libreri responded that society needs standards that will let us know when something is real versus synthetic or altered. It is already too easy to distribute manipulated or false information and rile people up, he said.

In response to a student asking whether AI will drive a decline in our ability to reason our way through problems, Sony Pictures Entertainment CTO Bill Baggelaar countered that, for some people, the calculator made math and science more accessible.

Paramount Pictures futurist Ted Schilowitz noted that “the way humanity today searches for information versus researches information has fundamentally changed the human condition.” He recommends that students should think about the ethical concerns of AI all the time.

ETC’s George Gerba noted that we are accustomed to things happening at the speed of Moore’s Law, but AI is evolving much faster than that and society is struggling to cope.

These discussions and other topics are covered in the 9-minute highlight reel.