A rosy picture of the future with AI
The more I’ve thought about AI and dove into all the advancements that we’re seeing, the more optimistic I’ve become about the future. I’ve wrote about it before, but I really think that AI could be the great equalizer we’re all seeking. That with the power to do anything and know anything in the palm of our hand, humans will be unstoppable, and slowly reduce their reliance on big tech, greedy corporations, and power hungry politicians that now rule the world. I think this because I see it unfolding in two ways.
First, there is so much work that needs to be done. Just look around. Nothing is as good as it could be, and in fact everything is a lot worse than it should be. AI is going to allow people to do the real work we need. When an office job is no longer an option, some of those people are going to spend their time thinking of innovative ways to solve chronic problems. Others, who can’t afford to not have a job, are going to be hired to be the boots on the ground tackling the problems, and implementing the solutions. There will be an inevitable transition period between figuring out what the new jobs are and elimination of the old ones, but I don’t think it will last that long, and I don’t foresee a shortage of work on the other side. Humans are by their very nature innovators, and this technological advancement will allow everyone to innovate. I see an abundance of more meaningful work that creates great and important change. And I see a huge opportunity for anyone who wants to be involved in that transition.
I was speaking to a guy the other day at Food For Thought (a completely volunteer run organization) who’s been out of work for 2 years. In his 40+ years of work he said he’s bounced around to all different types of jobs and companies. He’s a great guy, hard worker, and easy to work with. But he was laid off by a major wireless network provider and replaced by AI, and, as a more senior worker, hasn’t been able to land a job since. But every Friday he shows up at 6 am and stays until 9 am helping facilitate the packing of 2,000 - 3,000 bags of food that get sent to students throughout the Denver area who are food insecure. The bags of food are meant to last the students, who’s last guaranteed meal is lunch that Friday (Denver students are fortunate enough to at least have a free breakfast/lunch program for all), and their families through the weekend, so they know they’ll have something to eat.
Food insecurity is a real problem that is only getting worse. Food For Thought started 14 years ago serving 1 school. Fast forward to today and they serve 91 schools. Nearly 10,000 students each week. We have real problems that need to be addressed. A growing homeless and substance abuse population. Increased degradation of the land, air, and water. And this guy would be the perfect candidate to work on any one of them. To quote him, “I just want a job that will keep me living indoors.” AI automating the mundane and repetitive tasks, like project implementation, the last job he held, creates room for more people to tackle the real shit.
Second, I see a huge reduction in reliance on the big tech companies that control our lives through their intentionally addictive platforms, and influence over lawmakers through multimillion dollar campaign donations. Big tech has been able to amass such enormous wealth and control over the tech industry because the barriers to entry into the industry were too large for the average person to overcome. The dollar cost to develop and maintain a platform was unobtainable to most. The knowledge required to build and maintain a platform was unavailable to most. But AI changes that.
Anyone, anywhere, can build a new social media platform to compete with FaceBook, Instagram, X. Anyone, anywhere, can build the next Amazon. Anyone, anywhere, can build the next Uber. Anyone, anywhere, can build the next great search engine. The technology, knowledge, and resources are available to everyone, and only becoming easier and easier to acquire as the days go on and AI advances. The disruptions have already been established by these companies, and barriers broke down. Hiring gig workers is an established practice that needs no education. Marketing a new platform can be automated for very little money. Figuring out last mile delivery is possible because there are so many small enterprises that now do it. Thanks to big tech all the information, resource, and knowledge is out there, and the heavy lift, the education piece, has been done. Everyone will be (should be) building the platform they always thought was needed, but didn’t have the resources to build. That’s all changed.
That’s a pretty rosy picture and there has to be risks and reasons why it doesn’t work. The risks, as far as I’m concerned, are that government and industry realize what’s happening and shut down or severely limit the internet (like many other countries routinely do, Russia and Iran being the most recent examples). That is a very real risk that I worry about. For anyone that thinks it can’t happen here, just remember that they shut down the economy. That took at least some convincing and policing to get people to obey. Shutting down the internet is a flick of a switch (metaphorically speaking). Not hard for them to do. The second major risk is the further weaponization of technology, leading to police states and further oppression. Also not difficult for them to do, as we are seeing played out all over the world. Shutting it all down by force, something we’ve seen the current administration try to carry out already (with some success), is a real possibility.
But I think that we’ll beat them to the punch. I think that we’ll make advancements before they recognize what is happening, and it will be the way we finally break out from under the rule of insane political leaders and greedy corporations. With the tool that they built with the intention of accumulating even more power and more wealth for themselves. But I don’t think they understand what they’re building. I think they’re building something even they can’t control, and that it will fall into the hands of people wanting to do good and usurp control of the narrative.