The biggest risk of AI is the story we’re not being told

In one of the opening shots of Un Chien Andalou, a 1929 French film co-written by Salvador Dali and often cited as one of the first Surrealist films, a young woman stares directly into the camera as a razor blade cuts across her eye.

Well, her eye wasn’t actually open, thanks to the magic of the movie and all. But the film uses surrealism as a powerful new way to see and interpret the world. It is supposed to shock us from passive viewing and viewing, and take us beyond conventional perception.

Last Thursday, as I sat in the auditorium of the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, listening to a talk about emerging technology and innovation in 2026, I was hoping for a discussion about similarly revolutionary modern innovations.

But often, when we talk about artificial intelligence, we don’t face this potentially revolutionary technology with our eyes wide open. Instead, whether it’s in small lectures, social media posts, or Super Bowl commercials, we get one-sided marketing pitch that masks the real risks and concerns surrounding AI.

Based on audience questions during the Q&A session, this is likely my first real introduction to the generative subject and Physical artificial intelligence For many of them. The group took it all in without criticism, nodding and booming with excitement as the lecture painted a picture of a future completely transformed for the better.

In one particularly disturbing case, we were shown a video LG clothes folding robot Which first appeared last month in Consumer Electronics Show 2026 Trade show in Las Vegas. After seeing the robot myself, I knew how slow It was just a matter of folding one shirt to a uniform size. A robot that can actually help with household chores is still years away.

“Who wants this robot?” shouted the speaker, hands raised across the room.

Was there any mention of limitations of the technology, such as the fact that it would require human assistance to reach the obstacle? Was there any mention of the high cost? Of course not. The audience left that room with their understanding of artificial intelligence shaped by someone who carefully avoided mentioning any of the downsides of the technology.

This is a problem.

People with platforms — whether they are technology experts, museum lecturers, or influencers with millions of followers — have a responsibility to tell the truth about AI. Not just the exciting parts. It’s not just the parts that make good marketing. All of it.

When public figures highlight the capabilities of artificial intelligence, they overlook its dangers: devastating Environmental impactChatbots tend to… hallucination and Make things upthe alarming way in which the use of artificial intelligence is affecting… Memory skills Artificial intelligence incidents are increasing psychosis and suicide.

These risks are easily left out of the conversation; Conversations that shape public perception in a way that serves the interests of a select few, not the interests of the world.

We’ve seen this dangerous pattern before.

Since a 2018 US Supreme Court decision allowed states to legalize sports betting, celebrities and influencers have lined up to promote betting apps, pocketing huge checks while their followers face increasing rates of gambling addiction and financial ruin.

The cryptocurrency boom in 2021 also brought a parade of celebrities selling cryptocurrencies, many of which later collapsed, leaving ordinary people holding worthless assets. Kim Kardashian settled down With the SEC for $1.26 million in fines for promoting a cryptocurrency without disclosing that she was paid to do so. “Fortune favors the brave,” Matt Damon told us in February 2022 crypto.com That Super Bowl ad Terribly old In the wake of the cryptocurrency collapse that year.

We’re watching the same story unfold with artificial intelligence. We see Actors with household names Jump to Super Bowl ads Supporting AI companies for the benefit of 100 million people. Influencers They take money from AI companies to promote tools they may not use and may not understand, to audiences who have come to trust them.

The difference is that the risks of AI go beyond financial losses. We’re talking about Functional displacementThe erosion of creative industries, the widespread spread of misinformation, Deep fakes Which can destroy reputations and, as mentioned earlier, the environmental cost of operating these massive models.

That’s why I appreciate artists like Guillermo del Toro who talk realistically about artificial intelligence. When the models that indicated it Distinctive visual style After going viral, he didn’t mince words about productive AI being trained on artists’ works without their permission, compensation, or respect. Copyright laws. He called it theft.

Other artists Public figures have been similarly vocal about the threat AI poses to their livelihoods and careers. Meanwhile, technology executives and developers dismiss these concerns as the latest wave of Luddism.

Although I generally believe that famous people are not role models that can be followed or trusted, many people think so. They assume that if someone with credentials or a celebrity is enthusiastically promoting something, it must be safe, beneficial, and inevitable. This public trust comes with responsibility.

If you’re going to insist on talking about AI in public, He took $600,000 To promote Microsoft Copilot to millions on social media, or partner if you’re from the NFL With an artificial intelligence company In a commercial broadcast during America’s biggest sporting event, you have to present the big picture — especially to an audience that’s just learning.

Talk about limitations. Talk about jobs that will be eliminated. Name the artists whose work is being bulldozed without their consent to train these models. Admit the amazing energy consumption. Explain how easy it is to generate convincing misinformation. Reveal when an AI company pays you to say what you have to say.

This does not mean that you cannot discuss the possibilities and benefits of artificial intelligence. It has real potential to accelerate drug discovery, improve disease outcomes, and solve complex problems. But framing it as pure progress and innovation — as pure good — is ignorant or deceptive.

Like the surrealist work that emerged after World War I, artificial intelligence is revolutionary, provocative and disruptive. Both challenge the ways we see the world.

But surrealism was intentional and deeply human, rooted in our minds, expressions, and emotions. Generative AI is pattern recognition by machine. Surrealism was created to challenge convention and achieve absolute truth and originality.

We still deserve the truth now. The conversation around AI is happening, whether we like it or not, and it’s happening fast. The least we can ask is for the people leading that conversation to tell us the facts of the matter.