In a discussion with a government official last week, she made a point that stuck with me. She said:
“Every time we discuss AI readiness, someone tells us to wait, or to get something else done before trying it. But waiting is a decision that may cost us in the future.”
She’s right. The technology sector has mastered the art of sophisticated hand-wringing. In AI discussions, over and over again, the same cautionary refrain echoes: “We don’t know where this technology is going.” It sounds thoughtful. It feels responsible. But increasingly, I’m convinced it’s neither.
We Need to Experiment with New Technology
Consider how differently we approached other transformative technologies. When, over two decades ago, my colleagues and I started experimenting with mobile phones, Internet, and voice recognition for participatory processes, we didn’t have a crystal ball.
We couldn’t have predicted cryptocurrency, TikTok, or the weaponization of social media. What we did have was a vision of the democracy we wanted to build, one where technology served citizens, not the other way around.
The results of those who have been purposefully designing technology for the public good are far from perfect, but they are revealing.
- While social media’s algorithms were amplifying political divisions from the US to Myanmar, in Taiwan technology was used for large-scale consensus building.
- While Cambridge Analytica was mining personal data, Estonian citizens were using secure digital IDs to access public services and to conveniently vote from their homes.
The difference isn’t technological – it is purpose and values.
We Need to Experiment with GenAI
I see the same pattern repeating with AI.
- In India, OpenNyAI (‘Open AI for Justice’) isn’t waiting for perfect models to explore how Generative AI can improve access to justice.
- In Africa, Viamo isn’t waiting for universal internet access to leverage GenAI, delivering vital information to citizens through simple mobile phones without internet.
This isn’t an argument for reckless adoption – ensuring that the best guardrails available are in place must be a constant pursuit. But there’s a world of difference between thoughtful experimentation and perpetual hesitation.
When we say “we don’t know where this technology is going,” we’re often abdicating our responsibility to shape its direction. It’s a comfortable excuse that mainly serves those who benefit from the status quo. That is reckless.
The future of AI isn’t a set destination we discover with time. The question isn’t whether we can predict it perfectly, but whether we’re willing to shape it at all.
Being Wrong is Part of Our Job
Waiting for perfect clarity is a luxury we can’t afford. But that shouldn’t mean falling prey to solutionism. This week alone, I came across one pitch promising to solve wealth inequality with blockchain-powered AI (whatever that means) and another claiming to democratize healthcare with an empathy-enhanced chatbot.
Technology won’t bend the arc of history on its own – that’s still on us.
But we can choose to stay curious, to keep questioning our assumptions, and to build technology that leaves room for human judgment, trial, and error. The future isn’t written in binary. It’s written in the messy, imperfect choices we will all make while navigating uncertainty.
I don’t see 2025 as a year to predict.
I see it as a year to get it wrong. But in interesting ways.
By Tiago C. Peixoto, and originally published as Unwritten 2025
