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Abstract

Alfred Michael Wing III is a Political Science major from Monroeville, Pennsylvania. Al explains that this essay gave him the opportunity to work through a question that had been weighing on his mind for some time: whether modern automation and artificial intelligence can truly give back what they take away. “I wanted to explore the systemic risks they pose,” he says, “not just as technological shifts, but as structural challenges that society is largely unprepared for.” The project was not about fearing technology, but rather about questioning whether the systems we have built are capable of introducing powerful innovations without creating instability. Al’s concerns were heightened by political developments in the United States, particularly when a wealthy AI investor was placed in charge of implementing sweeping regulatory changes. “I feared then, and still fear now, that American society is slipping into oligarchy,” he reflects, “where automation becomes a tool for exploitation, rather than progress.” Al is especially interested in how structural decisions reverberate across populations and shape the lives of millions or even billions of people. He notes that: “I like studying how we can improve the systems we have to benefit everyone in an equitable manner.” Al also enjoys learning broadly about the universe and how the world works. His goal is to continue questioning, analyzing, and searching for ways to make systems fairer, more just, and more sustainable for all.

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