Sam Altman insists asking the right questions is crucial in the AI era

In a recent TED Talk, Sam Altman highlighted a shift from traditional prompting techniques to a focus on asking the right questions in the age of artificial intelligence. He argues that future success will depend on the ability to formulate insightful inquiries rather than merely providing prompts for AI systems to respond to. This change aligns with the insights shared by Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, who noted that human curiosity drives the quest for answers and that understanding what to ask is essential for harnessing technology effectively. During the talk, Srinivas referred to innate human curiosity as a defining characteristic, emphasizing that humans have a natural inclination to seek answers to their questions. He expressed the belief that the tools developed to facilitate questioning will greatly influence the future of technology. However, he raised concerns over whether current technological tools prioritize the user's ability to ask questions or merely adapt existing knowledge to fit the capabilities of AI. By failing to distinguish between asking and prompting, leaders in the tech industry may be obscuring the fundamental value of inquiry. Srinivas also pointed out that true growth stems from recognizing when we don’t know the answers, thus prompting more profound existential and ethical questions. These complex, philosophical inquiries cannot simply be answered by AI, as they necessitate a level of introspection and human experience that machines cannot replicate. As such, while understanding how to engage with AI is valuable, it is equally important to nurture our ability to ask questions that challenge our understanding and push the boundaries of technology. Ultimately, Altman and Srinivas’s messages converge on a common theme: the most critical aspect of navigating the future of AI is not merely the answers we receive from machines, but the questions we dare to ask. Acknowledging our ignorance is the first step in fostering a mindset that embraces inquiry as a means of personal and societal growth, reiterating that asking good questions will shape the trajectory of human interaction with technology going forward.