Introduction to Week Three

The emergence of Generative AI presents a new, potentially unprecedented, source for a Black Swan event. Imagine a scenario where highly advanced, autonomously operating AI systems, trained on vast and unfiltered datasets, begin to generate and disseminate information that is not only indistinguishable from human-created content but also intentionally or unintentionally disruptive. This could range from hyper-realistic deepfakes of world leaders causing geopolitical crises, to AI-driven misinformation campaigns that shatter public trust in institutions and reality itself, or even complex, self-replicating code that destabilises critical infrastructure. The inherent unpredictability of these systems, coupled with their ability to operate at scale and beyond human comprehension, means we could face a "digital Black Swan" with extreme and widespread consequences that are only understood in hindsight, after the fabric of our society has already been irrevocably altered.