Michelle Goldberg expressed her fear that the world is “sleepwalking towards a terrifying precipice” because of artificial intelligence, stressing that its disadvantages outweigh its advantages, despite acknowledging some limited positive uses, especially in the medical field.
This came in an opinion piece published in The New York Times, where she cited a phrase by far-right commentator Matt Walsh, which she considered to express her position on artificial intelligence.
Goldberg believes that artificial intelligence weakens the educational process, makes the arts lose their human essence, threatens jobs, distorts facts through fake content, in addition to its excessive energy consumption, expanding the scope of surveillance and violating privacy.
She also criticized the promises made by technology leaders, led by Sam Altman, head of OpenAI, considering that the actual results do not match the exorbitant social costs.
She pointed to the negative impact of artificial intelligence on the labor market and education, whether by facilitating cheating or complicating job opportunities, warning of a “confusing and frustrating” work environment.
On the political level, she saw that the dispute over artificial intelligence does not adhere to traditional political affiliations, as some technology leaders are allying with US President Donald Trump to weaken organizations, while others from the right and left oppose him for different reasons.
The writer concluded her article by pointing to the increasing public concern about artificial intelligence in the United States, and wondered whether American democracy will be able in 2026 to respond to this concern, or whether the influence of money and technology will override the will of the citizens.
