by Jules Older
On April 25th, Vermont Business Magazine published my article, Older on AI. In it, I opined that AI is not a passing fad or flash in the pan. Rather, it is something new, extremely powerful and life-changing … in the way that the typewriter, the camera, television and the internet were, and still are, life-changing.
Then, I summarized my view of Artificial Intelligence in eight short words:
It’s dangerous,
It’s useful,
It’s here to stay.
My article drew strong responses. Some agreed with my viewpoint.
For example, from California, Sandy Sims:
You are so damn right. The problem is ethics and regulation, which need to be kept away from just-get-rich-off-it people and in the hands of people with humanity and deep caring forethought. We need to be on this now.
Some worried about the implications for the future. Here’s Emily Carbonetti from Vermont:
This is the time where I'm glad that I am 72 and not our grand-childrens’ ages. I agree with your sentiment, AI is here to stay. If it is dangerous, it is up to them to fix it
From Quebec, Dave Fonda thought I went too easy on the people behind AI:
While I agree with your tight, taut summation of AI, I think you’re looking at it through a decidedly rose-coloured bubble.
AI is making us stupider. For example, students are now submitting papers that are more thoroughly researched and better written than ever before. The trouble is, the students can’t remember anything about what they researched or wrote.
The promise of AI is, I admit, very seductive. As you’ve pointed out, thanks to AI, now almost anyone can master almost any task with the mere touch of a button or, better yet, by simply uttering a voice-activated command. The problem is, all that knowledge, mastery and intelligence are about as deeply-ingrained in us as a vanishing blip on a LED screen. It’s all here and gone, NOW!
Today, many engineers and business leaders are telling us not to be afraid of AI. AI is really and truly wonderful. AI will free us to do even bigger and more marvellous things. AI is empowering and liberating.
While all that sounds well and good, I do wonder what it is that we’ll all be doing once AI and, by extension, robotics, are doing everything for us.
Will we all just sit there passively, not only not knowing anything, but also lacking the basic tools we need (e.g. memory), to help us learn and understand and know better. Or, more likely, will our new leaders — thirsting for even more wealth, power and control — simply turn us into that timeless favourite of the powers-that-be: cannon fodder?
All of which leads me to believe that when engineers and experts, politicians and business leaders, gurus and converts talk about Artificial Intelligence, what they’re really selling me has little to do with their revolutionary software and hardware. Rather, what they’re really selling us is our own fleeting and fast-disappearing grasp of knowledge, memory, wisdom. And, yes, dare I say it, intelligence.
From Washington state, sports writer Steve Giordano is already putting AI to multiple uses:
AI is endlessly fascinating, as are the takes on its dangers, usefulness — like you suggest, it's akin in impact to the printing press.
A few months ago I needed something done that I couldn't do myself. So, I invoked Gemini. Then a few more things, including a book review of a book that hadn't been published yet, weighing in on a couple of cancer drugs, help picking a local doctor, navigating my shortness of breath (interpreting my test results), and most recently, my asking it to write an adventurous story about itself for our highonadventure.com.
I couched the request in terms of how everybody talks about you, many are scared of you, a few are making fortunes — can we hear what you think? And of course in a few seconds I got a whole, laid-out, well-reasoned story, to the point and funny.
Which is to say, I like AI. It feeds me questions to ask docs, gave me a tip on how to get an echocardiogram appointment in days instead of the usual months (it worked), and interpreted mountains of data in a second that would have taken me a week. It's also rigorous in patting me on the back at every turn for my perspicacity and other human qualities.
And, it keeps me laughing.
The response that most astounded me came from Louis Loria, who owns an architectural and design firm in New York:
I own a company with 50 employees. I just started using AI. At first I thought it wasn’t a big deal. It’s a big deal. In one day I wrote a program with Claude that eliminated a data analyst in my company. One day.
I know nothing about coding. I don’t need to. I just have to know how to explain what I want to the AI clearly and precisely. I now am setting my eyes on bigger fish. I think I can eliminate half of my admin department. Half of my production department,
- It will not stop there. In 2 years we will be 25 people doing the work of 100. So, where is this going? Eventually, AI in conjunction with robotics will replace humans end-to-end of all production chains. They will plant the fields, harvest the fields, pack the trucks and deliver it to food-distribution centers. Not hard to imagine. Mine the minerals that make everything. Do the factory work, produce all products and deliver them autonomously.
- Humans will be removed from toil.
- So, sounds good right? Getting there will be the problem. There will be at least a decade of dystopia and probably war and many other bad scenarios until the world finally realizes what we need to do.Eliminate capitalism. Eliminate money. Allow the superintelligence to build a Utopia.
- I know, sounds ridiculous, right? My wife says, I sound like a crazy person. Maybe. The thing is, it’s a definite possibility.
- Getting there is the tricky part.
- What will humans do if they don’t have to toil? What we are really good at. Dream, and co-create with the superintelligence.
So. According to folks who responded to my article, AI brings on a mindless dystopia. AI helps you understand your medical records. Finds you a doctor. Writes an adventure story. Makes you laugh. Artificial Intelligence replaces more than half your staff and, in coming days, will mine the ore, plant the corn, harvest the beans and deliver the meal. Oh, and eliminate both capitalism and cash.
In both senses of the words, we live in interesting times — times that are fraught with danger and filled with promise. So, buckle up, friends — it’s gonna be a wild and bumpy ride.
Jules Older has been a disc jockey and medical educator, writer and filmmaker, clinical psychologist and TV villain. Jules’ work has won awards in four countries. He’s lived in two of them — the USA and New Zealand. Jules’ latest kid’s books include Special Ed and the White Force.
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