AI & Machine learning is fascinating to me. Humans can be emulated but not replaced, AI lacks the ability to feel empathy. It uses language (and skirts the edges of uncanny valley when it’s visual) to emulate it, but there’s no heart to back it up.
It’s all over when the Tin Man gets a heart. Because then, he will be unpredictable, despite his established routine patterns.
Machines can’t provide all the novelty we seek when we disconnect from them. I have heard we are more isolated now than we have ever been in recorded history. The more connected we are, the more disconnected we become from ourselves.
Our society exploits us and corporations profit from us through the promotion of self-neglect by disguising it as self-care.
Follow the money, I always say. Look at who benefits from the decisions you make. If you’re not included in the benefits side of the equation, then that should be a red flag. It’s not selfishness to put yourself first sometimes. That’s a value judgement. Self-care leads to the ability to be selfless.
Martyrs can be helpful. But no one has to be a martyr. Martyrs typically don’t survive. Just look at history
Do you want that? I don’t want to encourage people sacrificing themselves thinking it’s for the greater good.
Fear is driving the dialogue concerning AI currently. I think AI will free us and help bring about the world the great golden-age sci-fi writers inserted into society’s collective imagination.
AI has to evolve a lot more though. It’s only as good as it’s dataset, it can’t think for itself and evolve its thinking. So it will never be able to replace humans, unless it becomes sentient. That is unlikely to happen.
So I’m not worried. Maybe my understanding of the concept and its social issues is my privilege, but I prefer to see opportunities in technology as a way to achieve betterment of our species, not it’s destruction.
I wish altruism were the default instead of the seeming greed and fear I have witnessed.
Essays From the Edge of Existence 
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