Wait, bot why?

Have the robots already taken over? 

With so much AI propaganda stuffed into our social feeds lately, it makes me wonder.

I get it; it’s fun to play with. To create goofy art and see how well it can write reviews of season 4 of Growing Pains. Tough to resist that kind of allure. I know I haven’t been able to. 

But perhaps we should. Or at least pump the brakes a bit. Take a beat to think about what all this means and what we can do to influence the direction it takes. What is the world we imagine as AI becomes an increasingly integrated part of our lives? What does it mean for all of us? Society? Humanity? Who is in charge? Who decides? 

Some folks may want to go all in on the transhumanist approach—the sooner we merge with the machines, the better. Others would like to see it all burn down, leaving a luddite paradise in its silicon rich dust. For most of us, we’re somewhere in between those two extremes. And I fear our voices are not being heard. 

Being human is pretty awesome. To experience the world with consciousness is a gift. To feel, to love, to wonder. To laugh, to cry, to communicate with grunts and raised eyebrows because your mouth is full of Fritos and have someone actually understand what you mean. 

I’d like to preserve that. Expand on it. Nourish it. Find ways to make life more beautiful for more of us. 

Technology can play a huge role in that effort. It’s already done so. But we’ve never seen innovation at the pace we’re seeing today. And it could zip past us before we have a chance to adapt, or choose a different course. 

Personally, I’d love to see how tech can help us all slow down a bit. Let the machines work their tails off crunching data while we have more time to mull over the important stuff. Mulling is a lost art. I miss it.

Is that realistic? I have no idea. Perhaps I’ll see what ChatGPT has to say about it. 

#AI #robots #growingpains #mulling