Computer, RED ALERT!
A Star Trek Perspective on Today's Artificial Intelligence Dilemma
Spock: "Computers make excellent and efficient servants, but I have no wish to serve under them." (Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 2, Episode 24)
Watching the rise of AI in American industry has felt a lot like a long drive on the highway. For years, I saw them there, the bots, in their own lane. At first, they were clumsy student drivers, chaperoned by highly skilled engineers while they learned the rules of the road. They were the ones you’d honk at as they started to veer into your lane, but they course-corrected faster and faster each time, politely waving to apologize. They drove 10 mph slower than the rest of us for safety—and in some places, due to regulation. For me, they were almost forgettable, because a future where the bots would be behind the wheel alone was decades out. I trusted the process of engineering ingenuity, and for some reason, I trusted the industry.
Then, once they were given their licenses to drive, the companies who manufactured the cars and the bots started removing the drivers—those engineers who served as chaperones, guides, and regulators. I watched this, too, from my lane. The bots learned they could use their turn signals to merge into any other lane. The difference? They were not only signaling their intent; they were entering our lanes whether we liked it or not. All of the sudden, we needed to accommodate them or risk causing a pileup on the highway, or worse.
Dramatic? Maybe.
My designated lanes spanned two highways: the software industry and the writing industry. At first, I thought I could learn to surf the waves with AI as it overtook the software industry, while I turned to the writing industry as an AI-free refuge.
But there is no avoiding the bots. And we are not in control.
AI’s influence on society has never been more pronounced, according to The 2025 AI Index Report produced by Stanford University’s Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) group.
Some highlights from the report:
AI is increasingly embedded in everyday life
Business is all in on AI, fueling record investment and usage, as research continues to show strong productivity impacts
Governments are stepping up on AI—with regulation and investment
About this one: the stats in this highlight are from 2024 and represent laws and regulations passed by the US Government at the time. The current regime (I said what I said) leveraged an executive order in January 2025 to rescind the former administration’s safety and compliance regulations on AI)
This year, Big Tech in the US has laid off at least 54,000 people (this is the figure from those companies untouchable enough to be able to cite AI as the reason). That figure is likely much higher, and AI being the real reason? Also likely BS, and here’s a piece that does a much better job of explaining why companies are using AI as a scapegoat for corporate greed, mismanagement, and allegiance to shareholders (only) than I ever could. I said what I said.
There’s much more to say on the topic of why our current adoption of AI is not sustainable, including:
The plundering of environmental resources by semiconductor manufacturers, data centers who run that high-energy consumption hardware, and model providers who leave the faucet wide open
Creating and training models that exhibit the worst of human biases (because they can’t NOT), which means we’re seeking information from sources that possess all of our -isms (racism, sexism, ableism, etc)
So what are we to do? Are we the bug, or are we the windshield? Is there something in between? My first inclination is one of flight: stop the car, get out, and not go on this journey altogether.
But what would Roddenberry do?
I love Star Trek. I’m a Voyager gal. I didn’t start watching Star Trek until my late 20s, starting with Voyager, I’ve been rewatching Voyager ever since (I’m in my 40s now, counting at least 8 full rewatches to date).
Gene Roddenberry’s stories represent the best of human potential, especially in tech. We recognize technologies in the world today that were first depicted in Roddenberry’s stories: hand-held communicators, tablet computers, replicators (if we count 3D printers, and I can’t wait to order “Coffee, black”).
Now enter: the Computer. We interact regularly with the machines. We ask them what the weather will be, we use them to send texts while we’re driving, and we use them to generate code that modernizes legacy systems. Even translation devices are here (universal translator, anyone?).
Star Trek gives us hope for a Utopian future, believing that the human potential would be “remarkable,” yielding a better, fairer world — “a world with no hunger, poverty, prejudice, or greed.”
Bots are included. Here are some characteristics of Computers and AI-interaction in Star Trek that I do believe are realizable for humanity:
A trusted partner in the ship’s computer: It’s a living database that manages the ship's complex systems, navigation, and environmental controls. The computer provides the facts and physics, while the human officers provide the intent and ethics. This. More of this, please.
Androids with a practical function (Lieutenant Commander Data!): Instead of replacing the crew, Data acts as a force multiplier. During the night watch, he stays on the bridge while others sleep, ensuring the ship is always under the care of a sentient being. In emergencies, he interfaces directly with the ship's computer to stabilize systems faster than humans can. For me, however, Data provides more heart-centered lessons in the storyline than expected. By treating Data as a peer, the crew learns to re-examine their own human prejudices, which is something we could certainly use more of today. The key here was that Data is inherently bias-free. Our bots have inherited our biases. Perhaps it’s not too late to regulate and retrain some of this away?
Programmatic interfaces that evolve from tools (medical, scientific) to sentient beings with ethical subroutines. “Please state the nature of the medical emergency.” One of my personal favorites, the Doctor from Voyager, and the ship’s Emergency Medical Hologram (EMH), begins as a simple tool but evolves into a fully realized individual. Because the EMH is a computer program, he can download every medical textbook in the galaxy instantly. However, his relationship with the crew forces him to develop bedside manner and ethics. This demonstrates that even a job-focused AI can become a beneficial member of society who protects life rather than just serving its function.
Yes, I know: this is the glass-half-full view. Many episodes also emphasize how AI, under the influence of malicious creators and void of ethics, can cause more harm than good.
Computer, RED ALERT!
I don’t have solutions to offer up in this piece. What I do have, though, is the willingness to stop at the next Rest Area, and join a think tank of individuals to come up with solutions for human-centered world, accentuated by the bots.
But, we must do this now. For those who are unwilling to join the think tank or correct their reckless behavior, we must implement regulations—barriers, rules, laws—that ensure we allow innovation within limits. Will we go slower? Possibly. Will we reach our destination equitably and with the least harm done possible? I sure hope so.
If you’ve made it this far, I do confirm that I used AI to generate this piece’s image. I did it because I knew AI would get that Vulcan gesture wrong. The bots are increasingly good at some things (generative code, for one), but they are so bad with hands. Did you notice? I believe this trait, and many others, can be coached and guided, but we have more work to do on ourselves before the bots can ever live up to their full potential, as helpers and tools, but not as our overlords.
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