Pom in Oz with Derek Goforth: Advance of AI is new frontier of progress for progress sake, but at what cost?

Progress is a lovely word. It makes us feel clever, important, even righteous. But not all progress is good. Some of it is rushed, thoughtless and built on the quiet suffering of others. In 1957, a small dog named Laika was sent into space. She was gentle and calm, chosen from the streets of Moscow because she trusted easily and had already survived hardship. Scientists called her a hero. The world called her a symbol of progress. For years, people comforted themselves with the story that Laika returned safely to Earth, that she was cared for, that she lived out her days in peace. It was not true, but it was easier to believe. The truth was that she died in orbit, frightened and alone, circling the Earth in a capsule with no way home. Her suffering was hidden behind the glow of human pride. Laika’s story should have made us pause, yet we rarely do. We still use living beings as tools, convincing ourselves that the end justifies the means. Laboratories still test on animals such as rabbits, monkeys, and mice so that humans can have smoother skin, longer lashes, or one more pharmaceutical profit. We call it science. We call it necessity. What it really is, at times, is a refusal to admit that compassion should come before convenience. And now we have turned our appetite for progress on ourselves. Artificial intelligence has given us new frontiers, but also new cruelties. Faces are stolen, voices copied, and entire images fabricated, some innocent and some deeply violating. Teenagers and adults alike have found their likenesses twisted into explicit images they never consented to. People’s very identities are being exploited in the name of innovation. It is progress again, just without a soul. We chase faster answers, flashier technology, and easier living, yet we rarely stop to ask what it costs. Maybe some things should be left imperfect. Maybe comfort is not worth it if it depends on someone else’s pain. Laika never chose to orbit the Earth. The animals in labs never choose their cages. The victims of AI exploitation never choose to have their humanity stolen. And yet, all of them become the price we pay to feel advanced. True progress is not about being first or clever. It is about being kind. It is about saying, “Not this way”, even when the world is racing ahead. Sometimes the bravest thing we can do is stop, think, and accept that slowing down, even staying still, might be the most human act of all. Derek Goforth is an expat and father of three living and working in Geraldton