An article written for my LinkedIn profile
Those who fail to understand and implement the human condition will find themselves replaced by AI in the future.
If you feel that your job involves only mechanical, numerical, or highly routine tasks without any need for human interaction, then this century may not be as hospitable to you as you think. IBM's AI beat chess world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997, and more recently, Google's AI defeated Go world champion Ke Jie. How long do you think it will be before AI surpasses humans in accounting, finance, engineering, medicine, and law? And when AI starts to learn how to code itself (through self-learning), even programmers won't be indispensable.
Developing countries are even more susceptible to this potential existential crisis, as their early education tends to focus on preparing young people for the above-mentioned types of occupations. In a large-scale, long-term operation, machines are much more manageable and less expensive than human workers. Profit-seeking business owners wouldn't have to think twice, as they did during the Industrial Revolution just two centuries ago.
However, unlike many others with similar concerns, I don't advocate for the destruction of AI research. On the contrary, I actually encourage further development, as AI enables the exploration of new frontiers of knowledge that can benefit humanity as a whole.
Therefore, humans have a responsibility to reflect on themselves. "What is my purpose?" "What makes humans unique compared to the natural and mechanical world?" "How can I use this uniqueness to improve myself and others?" "How can we collaborate with AI to advance our existence?"
In a world where many work from 9 to 5, these are questions that many fail to ask themselves, let alone answer. Maybe we should spend more time searching for wisdom. We can tinker with our phones anytime, but the tranquility of home at night is the most conducive to contemplating the human condition - something only our species is capable of doing.
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