The trade-off of personal data for improved online experience may seem straightforward. But AI-powered marketing is creating subtle and multifaceted vulnerabilities, which, as individuals and as a society, we are ill-prepared to tackle.

In this opinion article originally appearing on Fortune.com, Carnegie Council Senior Fellow Wendell Wallach discusses the limitations of human connectivity in the Metaverse and cautions against walking blindly into these virtual spaces

As you read this, AI systems and algorithmic technologies are being embedded and scaled far more quickly than existing governance frameworks (i.e., the rules of the road) are evolving. While it is clear that AI systems offer opportunities across various areas of life, what amounts to a responsible perspective on their ethics and governance is yet to be realized. This should be setting off alarm bells across society.

As AI systems are being leveraged and scaled, frequently calls are made for, “meaningful human control” or “meaningful human interaction on the loop.” Originally an engineering term, requiring a human “in the loop” who could halt systems, the term “on the loop”  or “nearby the loop” has been co-opted by policymakers in order to distance humans further from systems. We think that putting into practice the notion that any human in, on, or nearby the loop would be able to oversee complex systems, particularly those including AI, could lead to potentially disastrous consequences.