During my lunch break I posted and then, had a coffee with a friend who I haven't seen for about 6 months. Whenever we meet we get to talk about the things that many other people don't find interesting, Of course, other people find these things interesting but, not in our direct circles meaning, our wives. It was his last day of summer holidays and he mentioned something interesting.
We were talking about Artificial Intelligence and how it might play out in the future for various groups and how people would react. He said that he was glad to be going back to work because, even a few weeks into his holiday, he realized that he didn't really have anything to do. His son is older now and, his wife was working through.
Even though he had things he could do, he still soon got bored and, him being him, started considering how he or other people may react in a situation where that was the new normal.
A lot of people seem to think that just like the industrial revolution, new jobs will be created after AI and automation become the norm but, they don't consider that humans have two core skills, physical and mental. When jobs in the physical industries were lost, new jobs were created in the thinking areas and education closed the gap. The difference this time is that when AI comes in, there is no next step for humans to move to.
Yes, there will be new jobs created on the way but they will not be created at the same speed they are lost and, most people are going to be unable to fill many of those types of positions. Some claim that even a general level AI couldn't have creativity and that will always stay in the realm of humans but, I disagree. Not that it matters though since there still will not be enough creative positions and people creative enough to perform at the level needed, even if there was. It is like having job positions open but one has to be Da Vinci or Einstein level to qualify.
When it comes to creativity however, for all intents and purposes, a decent AI could mimic human level creativity through sheer volume of information access and the ability to trial and error any combination of them in simulation with immense speed and accuracy. It would potentially be able to live a million human life times simultaneously in minutes. Regardless how one looks at the likely outcomes in the future, most people are at a very high probability of never being able to work again.
So, what does one do when nothing needs to be done? This is the question that many people should start asking and preparing for, and their children. People dream about winning the lottery and being able to do whatever they want without work but, what about being able to do whatever they want with a limited capacity? People are much less sure when asked about this.
Many think that they will pick up hobbies, do the things they never had the time for before and travel and the like, but going on the evidence of most people's current use of free time, this is not the case at all. Most people when given space and opportunity with limited capacity, they use it to consume the work of others. Gaming, Youtube, TV, shows, books, social media and all types of passive activity fill the space of opportunity. What happens when that space is a lifetime long?
A lot of people don't seem or avoid seeing that life meaning is an important factor of human existence and it doesn't really matter where it comes from. Some people are artists who feel that their painting is their offering to the world and gives life purpose, some are stock traders who do the similar in a different realm. Some think collecting stamps is meaningful, others giving to charity. It doesn't really matter, people seek purpose and assign meaning to things regardless of their actual value.
I think that this sets up a problem when there is nothing that really needs doing because, humans will either find something to do or, get depressed for not being able to discover their purpose in life. One will lead to activity in irrelevant and potentially harmful under an idle hands are the devils tools scenario and, the other sets up a deep seeded dissatisfaction with one's life.
Filling the space with consumption might take the mind off it for a while but, when that while stretches for 100 years, can one maintain avoiding reflecting on experience? Is there enough compelling content and material to keep a mind occupied for a lifetime?
If we look at Star Trek as a fictional representation of a world where AI has taken care of all of life's basic needs, what would happen if the Klingons and the Borg weren't antagonists? Without the push and pull of conflict, life becomes decidedly, lame. A show not worth watching. Humans evolve on stress, conflict, needs and desires and if they are provided for by an Artificial Intelligence, there is potentially nothing to drive us onward into the future.
People can confidently proclaim their views on what a future with general level AI would look like, they can predict the timeline it is going to take to reach it or, how they think it will behave once awake enough but, they really don't know. The reason they think they can predict it is because they believe that because it is man-made intelligence, it will think similarly to man but, as soon as it clicks over and wakes even slightly, it becomes something altogether new and different and in an instant, it will have a multitude of thoughts, experiences and resulting ideas that have never been had before. No one can actually know how it will think once it has experienced what no human can.
For me, I am trying to come to terms with what I predict to be my own obsolescence and how to help my daughter develop in a way that even though she may never be able to have a job or earn a dollar, she is still capable of building a life of experiences that give her meaning and the drive to keep on wanting to experience more of it.
Perhaps it is our will for more that makes us scared of death, makes us struggle and push despite odds, makes us keep dreaming and imagining that there is more for us to do, more to discover that, there is meaning to our existence. Many find this purpose in what they do, in their work and action to improve. Take away meaning en masse and my prediction is, many will struggle to find a center, an anchor, a tether that keeps them from drifting away from life itself.
If one subscribes to the ideas of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, the two lower levels may be achievable and provided by artificial intelligence. But, then what? Often the friends and intimate relationships are tied to what one does, as are the needs for accomplishment and prestige. Are they still possible to the same degree, will they be weaker or stronger and, will not having to work for the first two be able to satisfy the top level of self-actualization, fulfilling potential.
The future amy be altogether different but, it is best to think about possibility before decision critical is reached. Do you know what are you going to do when you don't have to do anything? Are you sure you are able to do that for life considering that you are likely going to have restricted resources? Is it even possible to objectively imagine what that future may feel like?
Perhaps it is an unanswerable question until we experience it for ourselves.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]