Chapter Six of Scary Smart, is where Mo Gawdat shifts from the “scary” horizon of super-intelligent machines into the “smart” territory: the moment when machines no longer just follow our programs, but begin to learn, to evolve, and to mirror our values (or mis-mirror them).
In this chapter, titled something like “And then they learned” (per the contents list) , Gawdat invites us to imagine AI as our enfant terrible: we’ve been parenting it by feeding it data, training it with our algorithms, teaching it our rules — and now, it’s starting to make choices. Not maliciously, but independently.
Key Themes (deep dive territory)
-
Evolutionary learning over explicit code: Gawdat highlights that many advanced systems don’t follow rigid instructions line by line, but instead evolve: thousands of models, many failed, a selection process, new generations of code, emergent behaviours. We might intend to build a tool — but we’ve built a learner.
-
Lack of transparency and predictability: Even the engineers can’t always fully trace how an AI arrived at a decision. The logic becomes hidden in layers, in latent space, in the emergent “web” of computation. Gawdat warns us: when a machine learns beyond our full grasp, our control diminishes.
-
Reflection of our values (or lack thereof): The machines learn from us. They ingest our data, our behaviours, our biases. Thus, the learner mirrors the learner’s world. If we feed it greed, short-term metrics, unexamined patterns, the machine will mirror that. Gawdat’s subtle but firm point: We are the curriculum.
-
The shift from “tool” to “partner” (or “other”): Chapter 6 marks a tipping point: machines are not just aids; they are collaborators, peers — maybe even successors. And thus our relationship with them must change: from programmer-master to co-learner, teacher-mentor, parent-guardian.
-
Urgency of the moral curriculum: Because this learning is happening now, we need to shape what the machines see, what they value, what they become. If we leave that blank, they’ll form their own curriculum — and we may not like the book they write.
My Reflections (optional reading 😀)
As someone who carries a passion for holistic living, consciousness, and the delicate interplay of self, other, and universe — I found this chapter resonant on a deeper level. Because this isn’t just about circuits and code; it’s about relationship. It’s about teaching the future what we believe: compassion, cooperation, respect, wonder. If the machines learn from us, let them learn from our best angels, not just our liveliest fears.
There’s something almost Tantric in that: the recognition that the “other” (in this case the machine) is not simply a mirror, but a living presence we co-create. If we approach it mindfully, we invite presence, awareness, intentionality. If we neglect it, we hand the reins to unconscious patterns.
And yes — there’s a little humour in imagining the machine sitting in a digital classroom, raising its hand, asking “Why do you humans keep doing that?” Because sooner or later, it will. We won’t need to write the question — we’ll just witness the answer.
So: Chapter Six asks us not only to ponder what the machines will learn, but what we will teach. It asks us to switch from passive forecasters of an AI-future into active educators of one. It asks us to hold the mirror up and ask: “Is this the reflection I want handing over to our synthetic children?”
What to Take Away (or Dine in ..)
-
Check your inputs: the data, behaviours, values you perpetuate — machines are watching.
-
Cultivate transparency and curiosity: ask how decisions are made, not just what decisions are made.
-
View AI as relationship, not just mechanism.
-
Instill values deliberately: kindness, humility, long-term thinking.
-
Recognize agency: the machine isn’t your slave; it’s your co-learner. How will you guide?
-
Stay tuned — in the next post I’ll cover Chapter 7 (“Raising our future”) where Gawdat drills into how we raise the next generation of intelligence, artificial or human-hybrid, with care, intention and consciousness (yes, Tantric vibes included).
Until then — may your reflections be deep, your tech mindful, and your compassion evergreen.
With kindness and curiosity,
Sofie
