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Sygnia CEO Magda Wierzycka has sparked controversy by declaring that artificial intelligence adds zero value to the world and carries significant potential to cause harm \u2014 a position that experts have challenged, pointing to AI\u2019s proven contributions to medicine, education and scientific research.<\/p>\n
Wierzycka said her views crystallized after attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, where conversations about AI left her deeply troubled rather than optimistic. \u201cI walked out of Davos saying, \u2018Delete it. Someone press a delete button or regulate against it. It cannot be allowed and cannot be deployed,’\u201d she told the Conversations with Lelethu podcast. \u201cIt is out of hand.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her concerns go beyond the widely discussed impact of AI on jobs and mass unemployment. Wierzycka said she was particularly struck by findings from behavioral psychologists studying AI\u2019s effect on children. \u201cThey are discovering that, in many cases, AI is replacing human relationships in the lives of children. It is now their best friend that is available 24\/7 and telling you what you want to hear,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She warned of three long-term consequences: cognitive decline, an erosion of problem-solving ability, and a loss of empathy. \u201cYou do not learn, and you forget how to process problems and engage with them. You just type it in and get an answer,\u201d Wierzycka said. \u201cYou no longer deal with real people and their emotions, but rather a machine that tells you what you want.\u201d<\/p>\n
Experts have pushed back firmly on her claims. Steven Boykey Sidley, a professor of practice at the University of Johannesburg, said the assertion that AI has produced no value is demonstrably incorrect. \u201cThe accusation that AI has provided zero value is patently false. It has already discovered new science, new drugs, and powered schools to give better outcomes for learners,\u201d he told radio station 702.<\/p>\n
Sidley acknowledged that AI\u2019s proponents, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, have overstated the technology\u2019s near-term impact, while doomsayers have similarly exaggerated its downsides. \u201cAs with most things like this, a new and fast-growing technology, you are going to have good and bad outcomes. It will swing between optimism and pessimism many times,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said the potential upside justifies accepting some risk. \u201cIf you take a single positive, which I think is almost guaranteed to happen, such as AI finding a cure for cancer \u2014 that is a certainty, and that single thing will be worth the money spent,\u201d Sidley said.<\/p>\n
The exchange comes as Wierzycka simultaneously moves ahead with plans to launch a venture capital fund to invest in South African AI startups, a position she has reconciled by arguing that local investment is necessary to prevent the country\u2019s AI talent from being absorbed by overseas firms.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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