Is This AI’s Hindenburg Moment?

A high-profile disaster can make what seemed inevitable appear crazy. Turn any article into a podcast. Upgrade now to start listening. Members can share articles with friends & family to bypass the paywall. On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg, a German zeppelin airship, burst into flames when it tried to dock in New Jersey after a transatlantic flight. The vessel was destroyed within seconds, and 36 people were killed. The Hindenburg was kept aloft by hydrogen, a highly flammable gas. Helium would have been the safer alternative (in fact, such airships were designed to use helium), but the Americans, who had a monopoly on its distribution, limited exports to Nazi Germany under the 1927 Helium Control Act. Nir Eisikovits is a professor of philosophy at UMass Boston and the director of its Applied Ethics Center. He co-hosts the podcast Prosthetic Gods, which features debates on the ethics of technology. More on Artificial Intelligence