In Brisbane’s western suburbs, houses hide behind subtropical rainforest, horses graze on paddocks, and road signs warn of deer and kangaroos.
The suburb of Anstead, nestled between a bend in the river and the foothills of the D’Aguilar Mountains, may seem like an unexpected place for a Polish-born management professor who advocates for embracing the age of artificial intelligence.
However, Marek Kowalkiewicz’s home, surrounded by rubber trees, tells a different story.
“When I moved here from Silicon Valley, my kids were about 5 years old and had no idea what an iPad was,” he said from his balcony overlooking his property. “From 9pm to 5pm, where I am, there is a world that is permeated with technology, and then there is a world that is superficially less permeated with technology.”
Today is the first Monday in March, and Kowalkiewicz is just hours away from the release of his book, ‘The Algorithmic Economy: AI and the Rise of Digital Minions’. In this debut book, the Queensland University of Technology professor explores the emergence of a new era driven by non-human agents, reshaping economies and societies in ways that are not fully understood.
Mr. Kowalkiewicz admits that, as the founding director of the QUT Center for Digital Economy Research, he initially misunderstood algorithms. He thought of them as mere pieces of code following human instructions, but now he acknowledges his error.
In a world increasingly dominated by algorithms, Kowalkiewicz believes that human agency is more important than ever to ensure a positive impact on society.
As we enter this new “weird” economy characterized by algorithmic controllers, robotaxis, and AI-driven decisions, Kowalkiewicz sees opportunities for human empowerment rather than replacement.
Source: www.theguardian.com
