AI capability will keep improving, but its negative effects—misinformation, job displacement, privacy erosion—could get worse if governance doesn’t keep pace with the technology.
The nuance
“Worse” depends on what you’re measuring. AI’s technical capabilities are improving rapidly and will continue to do so. Models are getting faster, more accurate, and more capable with each generation. In that sense, AI is getting “better” by every technical metric.
But the societal effects could absolutely get worse. More convincing deepfakes. Faster job displacement. Greater concentration of power. More sophisticated surveillance. These aren’t failures of AI technology—they’re consequences of deploying powerful technology without adequate governance, transparency, or accountability frameworks.
Whether AI “gets worse” for society depends on human choices: regulation, corporate responsibility, public education about AI’s capabilities and limitations, and investment in helping displaced workers transition. The technology itself is on an upward trajectory. Whether that trajectory benefits or harms most people is a political and ethical question, not a technical one.
Key takeaway
AI technology will get better. Whether its effects get worse depends entirely on human governance, policy, and accountability.
For a deeper framework on what makes humans irreplaceable in the age of AI, read The Last Skill: What AI Will Never Own by Juan C. Guerrero.
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