Well, only the most misinformed of the people would say that AI is about automating “routine work”.
The most drudguous jobs are the last to be automated. It is white collar jobs that get automated first. The proportion of bullshit jobs that humans have is increasing over time.
The most drudguous jobs are the last to be automated. It is white collar jobs that get automated first. The proportion of bullshit jobs that humans have is increasing over time.
Even if we accept that routine work is getting automated, and somehow that it is a good thing, what does “humans will achieve more” mean ?
It is ‘newspeak’ to mean “humans will consume more”. And consume till when? Until the ecosystems of the planet get depleted beyond recovery.
It is ‘newspeak’ to mean “humans will consume more”. And consume till when? Until the ecosystems of the planet get depleted beyond recovery.
The strange western idea of “progress” as a kind of accelerating consumption of resources can only lead to one thing: human extinction.
Other civilizations had other metrics for defining what “achieving more” means. In that perspective, routine work is not at all a bad thing.
Other civilizations had other metrics for defining what “achieving more” means. In that perspective, routine work is not at all a bad thing.
For example, Confucians and Daoista have an understanding of achievement called “wuwei”. This is extreme skill in a craft, that is only honed by extreme repetition and practice, such that one gets into an ethereal zone when he/she is performing that craft.
Why automate that?
Why automate that?
In Indian philosophy, the notion of “Karma Yōga” requires a similar achievement in the performance of a craft or a creative work, such that the “Rasa” of that performance is experienced. Such “Rasa” would not be captured in words (or in equations). Daoists would nod in agreement.
We are a foolish bunch of people, who unfortunately have far too powerful tools for our own good. We don’t have the cognitive (and spiritual) maturity in how to use them. AI is sadly just another such tool, effecting accelerated destruction of life on this planet.
