AI Future

The AI movement is burning hot....Elon just released Grok 4 and after watching the All-In Podcast discuss the implications of this tech......it got me pondering. AI is a crossroads type of technology.......depending on the "intent" and "energy" guiding that tech.....it could destroy the species or teleport us to new fantastical heights. 

I am reminded of something my father said when I younger: "I want you to have a easier time than me. I want you to have a better future and more opportunities than me."

The above quote is not accurate.....but the general sentiment is so....it is a particularly American sentiment where the previous generation wants the future generation to have an "easier" life than they did. The previous generation does not want you to have to go through the mind and back-breaking effort that they endured to make a living.

When I was young, this idealistic sentiment made sense......but as I get older, the challenges I've faced have defined who I am as a Being and forged my greatest talents. In the All-In podcast, they talked about automated restaurants and how eventually a good portion of your food will be made by robots. This process will make getting food "easier", "more efficient" and take out the human component. Yet taking "friction" out of the human experience.....may be fraught with peril. 

From a metaphysical perspective, existence does not admire "stagnant systems", rather it seeks to eliminate them....and a human species without adversaries, without conflict.....will inevitably become stagnant and thus eliminated....and a newer "model" will take its place.

This idea of making life "easier", "more comfortable" and "convenient".....has profound necrotic potential....if taken to a high enough level....you can already see this in American society with the obesity epidemic. As I write this, I'm on the verge of finishing the Conan the Barbarian novels (a full collection of the stories) and a theme that runs through is the nature of Barbarism vs the "soft", "delicate" and "safe" qualities in society. Conan stands apart wherever he goes....due to him being raised as a Cimmerian and thus he has a significant advantage (strength, endurance, wits.....etc) over his opponents. 

Another theme of the book is Sinew vs Sorcery.....physical strength vs occult knowledge.....this is a conflict at play, with winners and losers on both sides throughout. Flesh vs Knowledge.....I am reminded of AI vs Man......and how this dynamic will play out in the ongoing centuries. 

The worst outcome is that AI turns the species into an even more decadent, obese and slobbering mess than we are in America and as a result, the human species is largely eliminated from the gene pool of reality. The polar opposite result, is that humanity seizes on AI, as a tool for ennoblement. The light of this cosmic tool penetrates man's consciousness, in a way that takes our species to a level of illumination undreamed off in history (End of illness, Poverty, Space-Faring....etc.

Yet back to the main point.....human beings need an adversary, a conflict, a challenge to drive us forth....if AI eliminates all tension from physical existence.....were doomed. So when they talk about eliminating chefs and other professions.....I can't help but think where the friction will emerge that enables us to survive? Time will tell.