p(doom) is vibes, not statistics: researcher offers a VET framework for AI discourse
merrierm · x · 2026-09-15
AI researcher Meredith Ringel Morris guest-writes for AI Policy Perspectives: amid the current media cycle of "AI pessimism," p(doom) style estimates are "vibes" rather than empirically derived statistics, and conflating the two when talking to media and policymakers is irresponsible. She proposes the VET framework — Valence (is AI inherently good or bad), Effectiveness (how powerful it is), Trajectory (how fast it advances) — as a quadrant model to locate and vet AI narratives, and argues AI literacy should include decoding the fragmented public discourse itself.
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