AI can help shape society for the better – but humans and machines must work together
One of the first images of AI I encountered was a white, spectral, hostile, disembodied head. It was in the computer game N eu romancer, programmed by Troy Miles and based on William Gibson’s cyberpunk novel. Other people may have first encountered HAL 9000 from Stanley Kubrik’s 2001: A Space Odysseyor Samantha from Spike Jonze’s Her.
Images from pop culture influence people’s impressions of AI, but culture has an even more profound relationship to it. If there’s one thing to take away from this article, it is the idea that AI systems are not objective machines, but instead based in human culture: our values, norms, preferences, and behaviours in society. These aspects of our culture are reflected in how systems are engineered. So instead of trying to decide whether AI systems are objectively good or bad for society, we need to design them to reflect the ethically positive culture we truly want.
Here’s an example: Roger Dannenberg, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, has created an AI system that plays music with people. It accompanies performers based on ideas of pitch, scale, tempo and so on, that could be called facets of western music theory. In contrast, the composer and scholar George E Lewis, coming from a tradition based in the African diaspora – jazz and other traditions, as nurtured by Chicago’s Association for Advancement of Creative Music – has created a system called Voyager that is a “nonhierarchical, interactive musical environment that privileges improvisation”. The outcomes are very different. Dannenberg’s system produces output that is effective at following a conventional performer – it sounds like it hits the expected notes. Lewis’s system, in contrast, generates surprises in dialogue with a performer, sometimes taking a solo, sometimes laying out while the human solos – neither the human nor the machine dominates.
Voyager’s sound is somewhere in between that of avant garde jazz great Sun Ra and a Javanese gamelan ensemble. The values of each system are based on the cultures the musicians and programmers draw from: measurable control v improvised collaboration, making for important differences in the output of each system.
Nowadays, AI systems have roles in generating text and images, diagnosing disease, and even in autonomous weapons systems. One could make such systems as followers of humans or as creative supports for humans; we can look at the relationship between machine and human as based in command and control – or as based in collaboration, figuring out what people do best and what the computer does best so that they can work fruitfully together. Both approaches have their place – but I feel that currently the latter approach is less well-known and adopted. Creating AI systems based in many different cultures, with proper ethical guidelines, can help to rectify this.
People can intentionally design computing systems with the values and worldviews we want. For instance, the MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality,which I founded and direct, has built simulations such as Breakbeat Narratives,a collaboration with Universal Hip Hop Museum and Microsoft. The system utilises our centre’s technologies, characters created with comic book artists Black Kirby,Microsoft conversational AI and music archival content from the TunesMap Educational Foundation to teach hiphop history according to the user’s musical tastes and interests. For instance, if you like roots music and are interested in female hip-hop artists, you can get a short documentary on the self-representation of women in hip-hop that has a soundtrack of hiphop songs that sample from country and western and bluegrass.
I also had the pleasure of collaborating with war photojournalist and VR artist Karim Ben Khelifa on a project he directed called The Enemy, which enabled viewers to journalistically hear the perspectives of combatants on both sides of conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, El Salvador and Gaza – while customising the experience based on users’ body language as a proxy for their potential biases and attentiveness.
We build AI and computing systems for creative expression, learning and the social good by meaningfully customising stories and experiences for the people using them. There is a great opportunity for AI to have a positive social impact through such design – but to do so, the field will need to be more interdisciplinary, valuing the aims and insights of the arts, humanities and social science.
I’m not promoting a utopian view of AI. You’ve probably heard about recent approaches such as “deep learning” and “large-language models” – of systems such as Dall·E 2 and GPT-4. People have been using them for many purposes: gamers create characters for Dungeons & Dragons, attorneys craft legal motions.
Such systems utilise neural networks and approaches involving deep learning and large language models. It is hard for humans to interpret exactly why they output the particular images or text that they do (the system’s “reasons” are a pattern of finely tuned statistical values and numerical weights). When processes are opaque, and driven by large datasets that also are based on cultural values, it’s possible for unfair biases and other social ills to find their way into the systems.
We need to be aware of, and thoughtfully design, the cultural values that AI is based on. With care, we can build systems based on multiple worldviews – and address key ethical issues in design such as transparency and intelligibility. AI does offer extraordinary creative opportunities; but creators need to do social-cultural work that is at least as hard as technically engineering these systems – and perhaps harder. There are times when a command-and-control paradigm is appropriate in computing. However, when looking at AI, there are times when, instead, we need to see more jazz-like opportunities for creative, collaborative improvisation.
D Fox Harrell is professor of digital media, computing and artificial intelligence at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
feree License from the US Soccer Federation. Nichols is a Pro2 referee and she officiates in the United Soccer League, the MLS and the NWSL. Shortly after making the Fifa referee list, Nichols was part of refereeing crews for the 2023 SheBelieves Cup.
And, at 27, she’s just getting started.
Balancing school and games
Though she immediately took to officiating, Nichols says she did not initially realize the extent of her passion for it – or that it could become a fulltime career.
She refereed in her first regional event around the time she graduated from high school, giving her a chance to interact with Fifa Referees, who were there as instructors and scouts, and with referees from all over the southeast region.
“I was like, ‘Wow, this is way bigger than just local youth games on the weekends in Mississippi,’” she said. “I realized it’s a much bigger thing – and I really enjoyed it.”
Referees at the event noticed Nichols’ talent, too.
Rubiel Vasquez, who himself is now a Fifa referee, but was then a MLS referee, stopped Nichols to tell her that he recognized a lot of potential in her. At the time, she wasn’t considering refereeing as a career, but Vasquez encouraged her to do so, sparking an idea that would go on to shape her life.
Nichols attended undergrad at Jackson State University, where she joined the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Ultimately, Nichols graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of science in Chemistry. While at JSU, she was selected as a Tomodachi Inouye Scholar. Nichols planned to go to medical school or pursue a PhD and become a researcher, but she didn’t stop refereeing.
She ensured that all of her classes were in the mornings – from about 8am until 1 or 2pm — so she could be on the road by 2 or 3 in the afternoon, driving several hours to referee a game. Depending on how far away the game was, she either spent the night and woke up early the next morning or she left as soon as the game was done, driving back to Jackson to be ready for class the next day.
Coffee was one thing that sustained her during those years, but her family and colleagues were another.
Tim Clements is the state referee administrator for the Mississippi Soccer Association. He first saw Nichols referee in 2013, and remembers being impressed by her talent. He also remembers being impressed by her family’s support.
“Alyssa is a great individual,” Clements said. “She’s a better individual than she is a referee, and she’s a great referee. Knowing her mother, I know that came naturally — it started in the home. I wish that more parents were like her parents. They kept her focused… to reach her goals.”
Nichols’ mom sometimes drove her to games while she was in undergrad, giving her a chance to recoup much needed sleep. Matthew Thompson, another trailblazing referee from Jackson, sometimes carpooled games with Nichols. She would study while he drove on the way to games. She’d return the favor on the way back, driving so he could sleep.
That support paid off: by Nichols’ junior year, she was added to the list of SEC referees. By the time she officiated her first SEC game, Nichols had already officiated some Division II and III and NAIA games.
Mentoring the next generation
At 27, Nichols is one of the younger Fifa referees – to even be considered for the badge, candidates must be at least 25.
Her peers are often parents with established family dynamics, from whom Nichols gets advice and perspectives that are beneficial for her as she and her husband, Philip, who was a college soccer player, navigate maintaining a marriage while she is a Fifa referee.
Sometimes, she says, when she goes into stadiums, people will ask if she’s old enough to be a referee. While she was once frustrated by people bringing up her age and attempting to use it as a way to question her capabilities, now she views it as a test. It’s up to her to prove the naysayers wrong.
“It is exciting, because I get to learn, but I also feel like it’s a challenge,” she said. “I’m going to show you that I belong here just as much as everybody else, regardless of the age.”
Despite her being close in age to them, Nichols also works as a mentor to younger referees. She helps prod the next generation of referees along, similarly to how those she once looked up to did for her.
“I enjoy it because there were people like Rubiel, but also other people that were super impactful in helping me get where I am,” she said. “Without them, I know that I wouldn’t have gotten here, so I feel like that’s kind of my goal: to help the next generation however I can.”
Last November, she assisted as a referee mentor at the USL Academy League Playoffs in Tampa Bay, where she is now based. Dedicated to supporting the generation after her, Nichols also works as the state director of diversity, equity, inclusion and access program for Florida Soccer Referees.
Last May, Nichols flew into Mississippi just to be able to spend over one day working with referees before flying off to officiate a game. Clements says that younger referees, specifically female referees, look up to her and see her success as a source of inspiration.
She and Thompson were in the first class of students in the state’s Referee Academy, along with eight others. As of last year, four members of that class are now national referees and Nichols, of course, is now a Fifa referee.
“Every one of those that was in that academy and everyone of those that are now national referees, they come back and they give back,” Clements said. “I think they saw how important it was in their journey to where they are today and they really want to give back to help us continue to develop our young referees.”
Internationally, people don’t consider Nichols’ being from Mississippi, they “just look at it like you’re from the US”, she says. But nationally, it has been a different story.
When she started attending regional and national events, Nichols says people would ask comments that were a bit baffling at the time.
“They were like, ‘You’re from Mississippi? They have soccer there? That’s a thing?” she remembers. “A lot of times, people are like, ‘Wow, you’re from Mississippi,’ as if they’re surprised. I’m like, yeah, we can do quality officiating as well, guys.”
Instead of letting the comments get to her, Nichols decided to handle things the way she handles similarly derogatory comments during and after games: instead of folding, she works that much harder.
‘Don’t let it get to you’
Nichols says that she has experienced some less than kind comments from fans and players during and after games, but the community of referees helps her navigate it healthily.
“(We’ll talk) through things and scenarios and we get a lot of support from each other, like, ‘Hey, that was a great decision, don’t worry about it,’ or, ‘Hey, maybe that wasn’t a great decision, but this is how you learn from it. Let’s move on,’” she said.
The key, Nichols says, is not letting comments from spectators or players get to the ref as an individual. She reminds herself and other referees remind each other not to take things personally.
Though they try to be as perfect as possible during a match, ultimately referees are humans. And, therefore, they are not infallible. There are consistent rules, but those rules are open to interpretation on some calls. When fans and players disagree with a decision, or when a referee misses something, the attacks can get personal.
“They expect everything to be perfect, even though we are human and we do make mistakes,” she said. “Obviously we don’t want to make them. But it’s going to happen because we’re not perfect. You learn from this and you move forward, but don’t take things personally because if you internalize it … that’s when it starts to eat at you off the field.”
She’s only just begun
Though she herself is breaking barriers and inspiring a whole crop of younger referees to do the same, Nichols is also inspired by those who have gone before her.
Natalie Simon became the first Black woman to receive a Fifa badge in 2022. Anya Voigt, Simon and Nichols are the only three Black women NWSL referees.
Last year, Stéphanie Frappart, a Fifa referee since 2009, became the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup match in an all-female referee team. Talking about that moment now, one year later, still elicits pride in Nichols. At the time, she says she was almost in tears with excitement for what the match represented.
“I was like wow, this opens up the door and it opens the door to something that I didn’t think was possible for women,” she said. “The fact that she was able to do that – this is now, not a level playing field, but has given us an opportunity on a different stage. It was inspirational, like maybe I could get there one day.”
As for now, Nichols is looking to the future. She won’t be refereeing at this year’s Women’s World Cup or the 2026 World Cup – it’s a four–year process for Fifa referees to be considered and evaluated before officials determine who will officiate the games and Nichols only received her badge this year – but one day she hopes to do so.
“That’s the dream,” she said.
Pederson did. Any mistakes will be amplified. There can be no learning on the job.
3)Deshaun Watson, Cleveland
Browns
Last season’s return to the sport after his suspension was a dud. Watson ranked 30th in the RBSDM composite, which measures the value of a play and how much the quarterback is responsible for the value, behind the likes of Davis Mills, Taylor Heinicke, Russell Wilson and Colt McCoy. The offense functioned with a better flow and rhythm with Jacoby Brissett at quarterback than with Watson.
Watson’s game had always revolved around two traits: his deep ball accuracy; and his ability to create when pressured. Last season, both cratered. He was less accurate, less aggressive, less decisive and looked slower with the ball in his hands.
Average and bad quarterbacks fold when the pass rush comes screaming at them. Watson had alwaysheld steady. That was until he stepped on to the field for Cleveland: He turned pressures into sacks at the highest clip in his career to date and averaged just 4.8 yards per attempt under pressure – the only time he’s been below 7.5 yards per attempt – and this in a season in which he was pressured atthe lowest rate of his career by far.
Watson believers will point to rust – and the Browns best hope they’re right. Watson’s huge contract means the Browns are wedded to him for the medium-term no matter what. If he soars, they’re a contender. If his play from last season carries over into this year, it’s going to be painful.
4)Von Miller, Buffalo Bills
Things move quickly in the NFL. In the aftermath of ‘13 seconds’, the Bills still had one of the brightest futures in the league. A year and a bit on from that painful playoff exit, with another disappointing postseason run under their belts, they’re now battling time.
Buffalo pushed a ton of chips into last season and failed to push on. Things are dicier this season. It’s probably the final run for the veterans who have helped navigate the early years of the Josh Allen era. Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde, once the best safety tandem in the league, are starting to creak. Tre’Davious White, once one of the best corners in football, fell off a cliff in 2022. Stefon Diggs, Buffalo’s star receiver, continues to grumble.
Then there’s Von Miller, who is 34 and returning from an ACL injury. With Miller in the lineup last year, the Bills had an overwhelming four-man pass-rush. Once Miller went down, that evaporated.
Winning in the playoffs these days comes down to two things: Having a quarterback who can create magic outside the structure of the offense; and generating a four-man pass rush. Allen is good for one of those things. But if Miller returns as a shadow of his former self and there’s no one to pick up his production, the Bills will almost certainly fall short in January again.
5)Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions
The last time the Lions won a division title, they were playing in the NFC Central, which no longer exists. Now that Rodgers has bolted from the NFC North, the division is up for grabs. The Minnesota Vikings are in the midst of a mini-rebuild. Who knows what the Green Bay Packers will get from Jordan Love? Likewise for the Chicago Bears’ Justin Fields, an electric talent who still has to show consistency as a passer.
For the first time in a long time, the Lions head into a season with expectations. They’re the most well-rounded side in the division, with the most certainty at key spots. They reinforced a flaky secondary over the course of the offseason. On offense, they have the most gifted offensive line in the division – and one of the best in the league – and explosive talent throughout the skill positions. In Ben Johnson, they have a warlock of an OC who has dragged the best out of Jared Goff.
It’s Dan Campbell’s job to pilot it all and deliver on the team’s promise.
6)Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys
If any team can break the NinersEagles duopoly in the NFC, it’s the Cowboys. They have a ferocious defense and star power on offense. They added wisely during the offseason, bringing in a pair of key veterans (Stephon Gilmore and Brandin Cooks) to help on either side of the ball.
Ultimately, though, the team’s bid to end their Super Bowl drought will fall on Prescott. The quarterback turned the ball over too much last season, partly due to bad luck and partly due to poor decisions. He changed his style, too. The old Prescott, the off-script creator, was turned into the DakBot. Playing such a precise Manning-esque style can still be effective, but only if a quarterback refrains from putting the ball in harm’s way.
Prescott is good enough to lead the Cowboys to a title. If the defense isn’t the best in the NFL, it will be as near as makes no difference. So long as Prescott can cut down on the unforced errors, Dallas have a shot to win it all.
7)Kellen Moore, LA Chargers
You might have missed it, but the Chargers are already up against the clock. Given their cap situation, a haul of splash free-agent signings was never going to happen. Such is the cost of splurging the cash 12 months prior and locking Justin Herbert into a long-term extension.
Development will need to come internally. Brandon Staley remains one of the best single-game defensive gameplanners in the league, but throughout his tenure in LA his defenses have been beset by nagging issues: they’ve been allergic to stopping the run; injuries have knee-capped the pass rush. Outside Herbert, the team’s star players are ageing out of their primes.
Herbert has proven to be one of the most gifted quarterbacks in the game despite playing in a largely moribund offense early in his career. The Chargers are hoping that bringing Kellen Moore, the former Cowboys OC, on board will help ignite a stale system. If Moore can help drag an extra 5% out of Herbert, if he can make the quarterback’s life a smidge easier, then the Chargers have the spine – on both sides of the ball – to compete deep into the postseason.
Herbert shouldbe at the forefront of MVP conversations. It’s over to Moore to help unlock all of his talent.
8)Aaron Rodgers, New York Jets OK, we can’t leave out Rodgers.
Rodgers and the Jets will be thestory of the season. The quarterback turns 40 in December, and the history of 40-year-old quarterbacks makes grim reading. Only Tom Brady has fought off Father Time (temporarily). Brady accounts for 40% of starts for quarterbacks over 40, 46% of wins, 65% of completions, 64% of yards, and 73% of touchdowns. Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger, a cavalcade of the great and good, all saw their skills vanish at 40 (for some of them, it was before). Brady is the exception, not the rule.
Which version of Rodgers will show up in New York? He’s been on his best off-the-field behavior so far. He appearsto have bought into Saleh’s rahrah culture. He’s in legacy burnishing mode, and that should tamp down the kind of shenanigans that plagued the end of his time in Green Bay.
What about on the field? There were warning signs of a decline last season: his deep ball dropped off; he struggled to generate explosive plays; he abandoned the middle portion of the field. Still, the talent around Rodgers this season is immense. Even if he’s merely a league-average (or slightly above) starter, the Jets have championship potential – and his ceiling is much higher than that.
9) Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Duh. He’s the best player in the league by some distance. While he’s playing, no one is more important.
falling from a 2020 first-round pick to a roster also-ran. What is less apparent are the machinations behind Rodgers’ lunch invite for Becton but the cameras need something to film for next week.
The star – and the real reason to be excited for the new Jets season – is Quinnen Williams. The defensive lineman wreaks havoc on every rep on the practice field. Then rookie Will McDonald explodes from the same position against the Panthers in the shutout victory: Williams’s talent is apparently rubbing off on his teammates and doing so quickly. The edge is leading this wrecking crew just as Saleh must have hoped after the Jets gave the charismatic Williams a four-year $96m contract extension in the offseason. If the backups are this good – and being led by talent like Williams and defensive rookie of the year Sauce Gardner – then any struggles on offense could be masked, much like last season’s run to 7-4 with Wilson at quarterback.
While Saleh highlights a functional offensive line as a crucial change for New York, it is hard to overstate the importance of having an elite quarterback in the building. The Jets face
Buffalo, Dallas, New England, Kansas City, Denver and Philadelphia in their opening six games, a seriously formidable set of fixtures. If they stumble in that opening stretch then the team will need Rodgers to deliver when it matters – and killer lines to camera won’t suffice.