Frankenstein, A Warning About AI and Cybersecurity

Frankenstein is a literary masterpiece, not because of the monster, but because of the warning it tells about science operating outside of ethical boundaries. 

For those who haven’t read it, the book’s full title is Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus. Prometheus stole the secret of fire to give to humans. As punishment, he was chained to a huge rock and had an eagle eating his liver every day for all of eternity. Shelly was comparing scientists without ethics to those who defy the gods and suffer horrible consequences.  

Now we get to today. Jeff Bezos has started a new AI company called Project Prometheus. This is just too on the nose for me. Here’s why. The Terminator series is essentially a retelling of Frankenstein, with sentient, AI robots standing in for the patchwork human monster Shelly envisioned. 

Bezos is signaling to the world that he is now operating beyond the boundaries of technological ethics and morality. 

Nothing scares me more than the existential threat of AI-powered cyberattacks and the inevitable AI-powered robots that Bezos, Musk, and who knows else seem determined to bring into the world, like mad scientists competing to see who can defy the natural order of the world first. 

We have already crossed so many lines in the pursuit of technological advancement that we are caught in an arms race with hackers on one side and cybersecurity on the other. 

If you are not focusing on cybersecurity, it’s like leaving the front door open and the lights on when you are away. You are inviting trouble.