Yippee! I don’t have to work anymore! AI is going to take all our jobs!
Should we be terrified? Or should we be thrilled? Oh wait, didn’t I write this in my last article and the article before that?
The amazing future, or is that the amazing present?
I’m looking forward to self driving cars. It’s going to be a bumpy (and bloody) road getting there but it won’t be long before self driving cars are common and safer than human drivers. Ten years ago that might have been only a dream in the mind of some lunatic engineer. Now it’s expected in the very near future.
A key to remember here is that AI didn’t dream this idea up, human minds did!
AI Robots are our puppets. We are their masters!
Critical to an AI utopia future is for AI to be trained with unbiased information. Propaganda In = Propaganda Out
“One Size Fits All” – Let’s take the case of an AI financial advisor vs a human financial advisor. First of all, the AI should be unbiased and give good advice rather than a human financial advisor’s advice is biased toward what will make the advisor wealthier. Humans simplify the world in order to make sense of complexity. An AI can take more factors into account. A human advisor will recommend that as someone approaches retirement age, they should shift their investments from high risk, high yield to low risk, low yield investments. However that doesn’t take into account all the quirks of the individual. How healthy is that individual? Maybe they need / want the high yield in order to provide for a much longer than expected lifespan. Perhaps they have a situation where they are perfectly capable of riding out a short term financial crash?
An AI future of not needing to work may lead a lot of people to more thoughts about “what is the meaning of life”. What is the point of living? Some people find a great partner and enjoy a major portion of their life making love with each other. Some people spend a phenomenal amount of time looking for a partner. Most people perhaps spend the majority of their time working. Work becomes their reason for living. Can we find other reasons for living beyond working for an income?
Perhaps we can find meaning in doing artistic work? No more pre-fab homes? A return of craftsmen?
Several people have promoted the idea that the invention of AI is the greatest human invention of all time and eclipses all other previous inventions.
Something I’d like to emphasize is that AI is a tool. It is not a life form!
We can glimpse utopia on the horizon. That’s assuming we don’t bungle it and become extinct before we get there. Is our dream of utopia a mirage or perhaps a nightmare? Only the future will reveal that!
Slightly off topic: I've been using AI to create "stock photos" to use in my articles. Keep in mind that AI photos are supposed to be generated by starting with random noise and refining that until they get a photo that matches the prompt. Every photo should be unique (unless you supply the exact same seed number). Uh... this morning it's been spitting out a lot of duplicate images. That supports my speculation that AI photos might be just randomly picking from a large enough sample set that people don't notice duplicates (in other words, it's not really creating the photos). This makes the second time this morning where I’ve stumbled over examples that suggest that AI really isn’t AI!
Previous Article: https://mithel.substack.com/p/utopia-part-2
Next Article: https://mithel.substack.com/p/utopia-part-4
Edit:
Utopia Scenario Summary:
AI is implemented at the appropriate pace leading to greater productivity and thus improved standard of living for everyone.
AI improves to understand context, potentially gaining enough “reasoning” to be able to distinguish accurate information from propaganda.
AI is trained in a balanced manner to represent all viewpoints.
Humans learn to understand the fundamental nature of AI and stop seeing it as magical and intelligent.
Eventually AI and robotic technology is combined to the point where nobody needs to work to provide for the basics (food and shelter).
Fantasy possibility: AI and robotics advances to the point where robots become companions, expressing enough emotion and care that we come to consider them as companions.
Cant don’t the Twitter thread at the moment, but it was very convincing that Ai will completely reverse the economy because everything will become super cheap to make.
I started to write a response to the first part of this sequence, but decided to wait until its conclusion.
I have viewed AI as the next step in achieving the utopia portrayed in "Star Trek." It is the IDEAL that one day people will do "work" that is important to them and something they are most interested and capable. Not to provide for their basic needs, because technology makes it so those needs are met without issue.
When I was young, the idea of this kind of society was very enticing. I come from a LOWER middle-class background. There were times my mom struggled desperately to keep my brother and myself fed, clothed, and a roof over our heads. We technically were lower class at those times, but she always found a way to bring us back up to a more comfortable financial situation.
That in mind, my longing to not have to struggle sooo hard to have basic needs, and to be able to pursue personal interests without loosing that stability was a very welcome prospect.
Today, I am not so certain our society has found a reasonable path to that dream. People are still in dire need to make enough money to be able to live in the most simple ways. I am not sure if AI is the right path. Images of "Terminator: Rise of the Machines" come to mind in some of the thoughts. And the loss of self worth because you are NOT contributing meaningfully is another thing I see happening to people as they become less and less relevant to the working world.
I can't stand automated systems at fast food restaurants, not that I eat at them (I can't remember the last time I went to one, it's been so long ago). I LIKE having a connection with another human being when I go out. I LIKE talking to others from various walks about all types of subjects, even if those conversations are short enough to fit into the time it takes to place an order and get my meal. Or even at the grocery store when I have more that a handful of items to buy (I try to ti reserve self checkout for times I don't have much to get).
To me, AI will create a disconnect for people from one another in a number of ways. I'm not sold on AI being as wonderful a thing as others. Sometimes you can lose more in the name of convenience than truly gain. That is my perspective at any rate.
As with all advancement, we have to be cautious as we move forward and insure it doesn't do more harm than good. We also have to move at a pace that allows society to adjust without causing people to be cast aside and feeling useless or unwanted. I'm sure there are many applications where AI can benefit mankind. I just don't want to see it become our detriment.
Great series. It made me think, and that is always a good thing.