--- title: "Stanford Director: AI Scientists’ “Frontal Cortex Is Massively Underdeveloped”" description: "Kids in America Associate director of Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Robert Reich threw absolute daggers this week when, while speaking to Esquire about the newness of the AI industry and how that impacts its relationship to ethics, he likened those in the burgeoning field to — drumroll please — actual children. \"AI researchers […]" date: "2023-05-06" modified: "2023-05-06" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/stanford-ai-scientists-frontal-cortex-underdeveloped" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "ai bros" - "silicon valley" - "the digest" --- # Stanford Director: AI Scientists’ “Frontal Cortex Is Massively Underdeveloped” ![The associate director of Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence compared AI scientists to "late-stage" teens.]() *\Image: Getty Images\* ## Kids in America Associate director of Stanford's Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Robert Reich threw absolute daggers this week when, while [speaking to *Esquire*]() about the newness of the AI industry and how that impacts its relationship to ethics, he likened those in the burgeoning field to actual children. "AI researchers are more like late-stage teenagers," Reich told *Esquire*, comparing those in the still-very-much-developing field of AI to those in more established, similarly ethics-concerned biomedical tech. "They're newly aware of their power in the world, but their frontal cortex is massively underdeveloped." "Their \[sense of\] social responsibility," he added, "as a consequence is not so great." Gotta say: damn. If the industry AI bros are indeed acting like kids, Reich may have just cemented himself as the adult in the room. ## Teenage Invincibility Honestly, when you think about it, it's a pretty solid analogy. For one thing, teens are often risk-happy thrill-seekers, and folks who work in AI — particularly the younger crowd — are [constantly talking]() about how the unregulated technology that they're building [might annihilate humanity](). But as their risk aversion generally seems to [hover right around zero](), they keep building the technology regardless. There's also the fact that, as *Esquire* discussed in the article at hand, a lot of tech bros very much want to live forever, and many of them want to do so with the help of AI. And anyone who has either been a teenager or knows a teenager knows, teens generally think of themselves as invincible. It's also common for young people to find themselves questioning the more existential questions of life, perhaps losing and finding religion or lack thereof along the way, and some can argue that the quest to build AI is a quest to do the same. After all, the folks in Silicon Valley are quite literally attempting to design a separate — and [possibly even superior]() — being in our own image. Whether the goal is to build a version of a god in a machine or become a god *to* a machine will depend on the individual, but we're certain that both outlooks are present in the fast-moving, competitive field. Of course, the field *is* young, and Silicon Valley has long taken a similarly teen-like "move fast and break things" approach to all sorts of tech. But as it should probably go without saying: the folks helming the AI race aren't actually teenagers, and for the most part, their frontal cortexes *are* developed. Conscious choices are being made, and they're being made by adults — how those choices work out for the rest of us, however, remains to be seen. **More on AI:** [*IBM Replacing 7,800 Human Jobs with AI, Including Human Resources*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()