It’s often said, “Advanced technology has been around for decades. Sure, it’s taken Jobs, but people have always found new jobs.” The fundamental flaw in this statement suggests that because a thing worked a certain way in the past, it’ll work the same in the future. In this article, you’ll hear a cautionary tale as to why this might not be like the last time. 

The first question I have related to artificial intelligence versus human intelligence is, “Does it move humanity forward or backwards.” Take social media for instance. By all accounts, it was a technological advancement. It allows people from around the world to feel connected and to communicate instantly. I say feel connected because I’m not sure connecting is what’s really happening. It feels more like disconnecting at times.

Social media is an outlet for anyone to share an opinion regardless of research. If you think it, you can say it! This factor has led to the destruction of many relationships. Sure, there’s the pictures and vacation sharing, which can seem very pretentious at times; however, for some, it provides an idea of connecting. We’ve become so content to like or comment on a post that we rarely interact otherwise. Even worse are the interactions when we don’t like a post. In 2020, many became enemies due to disagreements over various topics. 

Continuing on the topic of humanity becoming better or worse with AI, let’s look at ability. The advancement of AI requires us to think less. We don’t need to retain information in our brains, because it’s maintained on a device. I asked my wife a couple days ago, “If you needed to make a phone call, but only had access to a landline phone, how many people would you be able to call?” Her answer was, “Just you!” I can recall remembering many phone numbers in the mid to late 90s. Now I’m pretty much in the same boat. I only know my wife’s phone number.

Let’s take it a step further. AI, such as Chat GPT allows a person to obtain an article without writing it. Where we once needed to learn to write well for communication, we can now just provide a topic to AI and voila. What effect will this have on our ability to write in the future? Sure, maybe AI can write better than I can, but for the sake of maintaining or growing my writing skills, I prefer to write my own articles. Yes! It takes more time, but I don’t want to smooth out my brain. I can’t say that that will happen as apparently the wrinkles in our brain developed over thousands of years. Whilst I can’t make the claim, one has to wonder if AI will eventually diminish our desire and ability to learn and grow. Human Intelligence declines, whilst Artificial Intelligence thrives. 

Will AI replace my job? Jobs concerns have been a common topic. A couple months ago, I had family visiting to hear my daughter perform in Colorado’s All State Honors Choir. When the concert was over, it was late and they wanted to go to a Car’s Jr., a fast food chain. We got to the drive through where an automated voice asked us to place our order. As it goes with giving many orders at once, I was bound to make a mistake. One of the desert orders I placed was incorrect, so I corrected it. It thought for sure the automated drive through attendant was going to botch the order. However, when the order was repeated back to me, it was without flaw. I was shocked and instantly thought, “this tech is going to replace a lot of low income jobs.” 

The following week, I went to the grocery store and saw an unmanned machine buffing floors. Again, that was somebody’s job. If you’ve been paying attention to mainstream media headlines, I don’t need to tell you how many big tech jobs have been and will be replaced by AI. Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Twitter and others laid off thousands of tech workers in 2023. Many of these companies have since boosted quarterly profits and had their market caps reach new all time highs. Because bottom line profits is the name of the game, I think it’s just the start. Someone recently said to me that technology will always require humans. That may be true today, but I can see how the future might prove that to be false.

Technology is now so advanced that it can improve upon itself. It’s continually and relentlessly working out its flaws on a level that even the most driven human couldn’t keep up. Wouldn’t it stand to reason that eventually AI could create robots that could do almost any job. Someday, robots might be able to repair robots that repair machines. I know this is starting to sound like a science fiction film, but stay with me. 

If technology replaces mankind in the workforce, how then will we support ourselves? If we can’t support ourselves, do we then become a welfare state, haphazardly supported by the multi-trillion dollar companies that will control everything. I believe it was Ida Auken at the World Economic Forum who said, ‘you’ll own nothing and be happy.” Believe it or not, this is where AI could lead us. Follow the breadcrumbs!

Today, we celebrate the advancements in AI, but are we celebrating our own demise? Is AI making us better, or pulling us further away from the ability to think and create? Keep in mind that this is the factor that has made us the most dominant species on the planet. If we surrender this to AI, what else will we give up in the process?

Written by: 

Eric L. Lipsey | Founder | Owner 

VENTRE Capital, Inc.

www.VentreCapital.com