3 Reasons Why Criticising AI is Intellectually Lazy
From the outset let me state clearly that throughout this article I have not once consulted AI – these are strictly my own thoughts on the matter direct to word processor! I do this to make a point and to solidify said point in concrete.
Now ironically, having said that I come out very strongly in defence of AI.
Let’s look then at why (in my opinion) it’s intellectually lazy to criticise AI and predict all manner of doom and gloom for the human race. Let’s hope the Terminators are not listening in right now!
1. Completely ignoring this quantum leap of a learning opportunity!
This has got to be the most glaringly obvious and beneficial use of AI that one can imagine – never before has there been a tool that can teach you anything about any subject you wish to explore with such incredible ease. We have here the closest analogue possible (to date) of a totally expert teacher/instructor/mentor pretty much on call 24/7 and in the palm of your hand! To boot no question is too stupid and no question too complex. Barring government secrets and illegal activities, the sky is quite literally the limit no more… provided that aerospace engineering is your thing. It is only the very wilfully ignorant and those with very deeply vested interests in my opinion who would rail against such an incredible teaching aid and possibly themselves having nefarious intentions would try to use AI for darker deeds. For shame!
2. Doggedly clinging to old skills.
The amount of jobs made obsolete by the invention of tools, machines, manufacturing and technology will astound you! Throughout history this has been the purveying theme and with each new adoption of gadget/tool/medicine there has been the most utterly daft protests launched by those who seek to maintain the status quo.
The names of these jobs from the 1800’s alone will be completely foreign to you and you’ll be convinced that they are completely made up, yet they were very real occupations and hardworking individuals tolled away at them to make their daily bread.
I invite you to Google ‘obsolete jobs’ at your own leisure.
One very well known example of this protest against new innovation was the advent of the internal combustion engine and what its implications were for the horse and carriage. Another equally famous public controversy was Edison’s lobby for the widespread adoption of direct current (DC) in favour of our friend Mr Tesla’s much cheaper and effective alternating current (AC). The absolute insanity that followed in the wake of this resulted in the most gruesome and vile animal cruelty acts in which Edison publicly electrocuted an elephant to demonstrate the ‘dangers of AC’! How charming.
3. Attempting to hide one’s communication inflexibility
Remember when you were young and had to show grandma how to use the TV remote? How to program the VHS machine? No? Well, if you’re GenX like me you will remember clearly how older generations used all manner of excuses to hide the fact that they simply did not have the ability to communicate with technology. Let’s face it, every new advancement challenges us to discard the communication concepts we already have and accept a different way to interface with new gadgets.
As we ‘learn’ throughout the years, we are at great risk of becoming completely fixed in our views. This in turn can devolve into a complete lack of ability to observe the obvious. The sad fact of feeling worthless as one ages does not have much to do with the physical body, but in my estimation it has everything to do with approach and attitude to an ever changing world.
While it’s oh-so tempting to seek out one absolute unifying theory/methodology/skill/machine that could completely future proof you into endless eternity, this is demonstrably not the case. Things left on automatic may be totally ok for machines regularly monitored by us humans but for you as an intelligent, self-aware entity to do the same is absolutely fatal!
A wise man once said that true professionals never stop learning and we very regularly see those at the top of their fields fully embrace new innovations. Consider for a change the idea of seeking out new ways to communicate and evaluate them based on their effectiveness rather than resist for fear that your existing knowledge and sense of worth will be invalidated. Be brave in other words.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the unavoidable reality is that we can not blame AI for our failures as human beings. We must advance our views and attitudes in tandem with the advance in technology and stop moaning about AI and how it will ‘replace us all’ or see it as some kind of cheating. Ultimately AI is here to stay, so how about being more creative and using AI to do great things instead of all this tedious protest? Hm?
After all it’s better to keep quiet and let them think you have no tech savvy than to moan about AI and remove all doubt!