AI Ambivalence in 2026

Presented at the ACES-NM Annual Meeting and Student Award Ceremony -- Domenici Center for Health Sciences Education, UNM, Albuquerque, NM -- January 10, 2026 Abstract: As 2026 begins, the excitement surrounding AI is extreme, global, spanning academia, industry, and government, and reaching across society. Engineers and scientists are responsible for the advances of AI, and are -- at least collectively -- better trained to understand and manage the opportunities and challenges it presents. However, the speed of progress, particularly of ANNs and LLMs, combined with the noise and confusion throughout both the public sphere and scientific community, have added to the challenges of responding intelligently and beneficially, for organizations and individuals. This talk will review some key aspects of the current situation, benefits and concerns justifying an attitude of AI Ambivalence, informed by context from the History of AI. Positive examples will draw from the speaker's research activities, including generative-AI applied to early-stage pharmaceutical discovery.