Abstract
Sasha Sidorkin is an artificial intelligence realist. Or, as he puts it, “I know what hype is.” While the conversation about AI can swing between excitement about its seemingly endless capabilities and concerns about sweeping job losses or, in some circles, the potential end of the world, Sidorkin, Sacramento State’s chief AI officer, takes a more measured approach. As head of Sac State’s National Institute on AI in Society, Sidorkin speaks frequently in the community about the technology and also hears concerns from faculty about the potential for student cheating. Sidorkin tells “Beyond J” that, yes, some jobs will disappear, but not nearly as many as people think. Yes, AI can write a five-paragraph essay, but it’s not capable of human creativity or agency. And no, we are not living in a simulation.