That’s the topic of the latest Free Press column, here’s one quote:
I don’t think a skeptic would say that, but when I read Conti, I found him to have a fundamentally bleak view of humanity. Are we all really just looking for vegetables and leaving our curiosity and questions behind, at least if machines have taken care of the basic functions of life and higher goals such as scientific research? I think some people like that—indeed you could say a lot of people—but they don’t represent what I think is the general human condition.
If I look at most people who can fit into the “middle class” when it comes to intellectual pursuits or educational status, I see they have a lot of strong interests. This could be playing with animals, improving your performance in sports, or learning how to cook better. You don’t have to identify these preferences with “the new Athena” or “the next Mozart” to think that it is a good and noble way for people to spend their time.
Most of us want to do something interesting and stimulating with our free time, and if we don’t, it’s often because our work is so busy and stressful that we want to decompress. Of course, in our radical vision of our AI future, fewer projects will consume us all and more of us will use our vacations and free time to explore and learn instead of just sitting on the beach scrolling through our phones. And until some jobs stay busy, or become more diverse (such as cybersecurity), they will continue to be challenging and intellectually stimulating.
A related concern is that humans may feel unable to compete with AI, and thus shy away from creative efforts. Indeed I, more than ever, have given up all hope of proving a new theorem in mathematical economics. But most of my intellectual and creative endeavors are not in competition. For example, I use AI to better understand classical music, asking the model before sitting down to listen to a piece. (such as “which recording is the best?” and “what should I listen to in the second movement?”) As the model gets better and smarter, I will not be discouraged in this effort, because I am not “competing” with the model to see who knows better. However, I will thank you with a better understanding of classical music – my increased knowledge has led me to see live concerts.
Recommended, and AI saves time on proofreading and checking facts (not writing!), so I can go back to reading China Mieville…