To worry that AI will alter the world beyond all recognition, and not for the better?

[Appalonia]

I know it's only in its infancy but it's already created music, screenplays, works of art, photos, essays, marketing, and has the ability to create so much else which will basically erase the necessity for so many jobs, including creative ones. What will pp DO when most of us are essentially irrelevant? And what will be the purpose of life when there's no point learning a skill when AI can do it so much better, and cheaper? I was watching an interview with Elon Musk who was saying that universal basic income is the only way forward. Which is great, but, if human beings are going to become essentially redundant ( apart from purely physical jobs such as cooking, building, hairdressing, beauticians, farming etc), what will be the point of us?

YANBU - it’s really worrying and, as Future of Life’s open letter said, it poses profound risks to society and humanity.

I'm also worried about this - it's very possible the typical YA dystopian future where we're all in extreme poverty except the elite few who own the AI is on the horizon.

Though in reality I think the 'blue collar jobs" will be more popular (excluding the automated ones) and "white collar jobs" and creative jobs will either be heavily reduced or completely irradiated by AI.

It's been reported my role will be redundant in 10 years - I'm 30 so yay to retraining 🙄

I think it's great! I am an AI research scientist though, so I am very biased.

Sounds bloody awful

What’s so great about it, in your view?

It's awful and I'm very worried.

Me too - got the fright of my life this week when I saw how Chat GPT can already do everything from draft code to write creative stories with just a few key inputs - sounds minor but that is basically the whole job of a number of copywriters / junior programmers. Replaceable for the cost of a £20 a month subscription to Chat GPT! But I think (well, hope) there will be a lot of human facing jobs that will never be replaced by AI, not to mention the creation of a number of new jobs in the future that we haven't yet thought of.

I guess if there really is a big uplift in blue collar jobs and downturn in white collar ones, it's basically resetting the economy to how it was during the industrial revolution. Except countries like Britain no longer have mines etc. But there are still plenty of other manual labour careers that people could go into, it'd just be a huge culture shock.

I suspect people have worried about this forever. How did the washer women feel when mechanical washing machines were invented...

These things don't change over night. And things a very rarely black and white. Some changes will be good changes, others will be bad.

Literally no job is safe though. Given enough time and enough innovation I can't think of a single job that couldn't theoretically be done by the right machine/AI

yep it is coming!

It’s worrying although j take the point that it’s not the first time in history… just look at the massive changes (not all positive) the Industrial Revolution brought.

what do people in the know think is a ‘safe’ career option for today’s young people? What is an AI proof career?

I voted YABU because people are not defined by their jobs and it's not their "reason for living". You don't need a reason to live, you are entitled to exist. Learn for the sake of learning, do for the sake of doing. Maybe we'll have a new idle rich class like in the 1800s, or a new idle poor class like in the 90s. None of us know how this will pan out. But for the record I use AI for work and it is still really crap at writing and needs loads of human input.

Can AI really create art, novels, music that moves us? I can't really believe these endeavours of human creativity could be successfully done by machines! But someone on here posted an article recently that explained how as soon as AI becomes sufficiently intelligent, it will wipe out all human life within about half an hour so maybe it's all a moot point.

We’ve just been having this exact conversation over dinner.
I stopped thinking about it when I considered whether AI would ‘think’ that solving the world’s problem of increasing population and feeding them all is extremely simple. Chilling.

Sounds a bit Luddite. I thought we were supposed to cheer the march of progress.

I can’t imagine this either.

I also don’t believe it could ever replace humans within the helping professions, counselling for example.

There is a connection that comes from empathy and eye contact and genuine moments where lived experience and compassion and presence collide. That connection is one that helps to heal and comfort and I don’t believe it could ever be replicated by AI. Not in a way that one could ever feel no matter how many factors were considered and copied and programmed in.

Since January I have used ChatGPT every day for work. I use it to write code, help me with blogs/press releases and do some research in very specific areas. It makes me better at my job. I think the key is to embrace new technology and see how we can use it to our benefit at work, not decry that it is taking our jobs. However, at the same time, I do understand the concerns. The innate greed of the human race seems to render us incapable of allowing innovation to benefit society fairly. In the 1930 essay called "Economic Possibilities For Our Grandchildren" the economist JM Keynes suggested that technological advances would be such that in 50 years (or so) we would all only need to work 2-day weeks. In fact what has happened is that inequity has increased and we have continued to consume more. I wish I knew what the solution was.

YANBU. People don't tolerate the disabled or the idle poor.

Just for the LOLs - heres what CHatGPT says in reponse:

You should do am AMA on this subject!

There is no way the rich will tolerate UBI. We'll all be reduced to doing manual work that the AI physically won't be able to do. I can't see the rich agreeing to keeping anyone alive who can't contribute. I can envisage a Logan's Run type world. I understand Canada are half way there rather than paying out disability benefits.

I guess they can. I downloaded the chat (gpt?) app that someone on mn mentioned yesterday. I had it writing all funny poems about my kids and my friends. I then decided to put in a few details about my 2 dogs. It wrote such a beautiful poem about them that I was in tears, I’m having an actual artist write the piece with their portraits. It’s almost like it can read between the lines of what you’re saying and come up with such uncanny details from the few facts you give it.

what will be the point of us?

What really is the point of any life? You’re asking this on mumsnet.

It’s to produce more life.

It terrifies me. Already we have handed so much power to a small few rich Americans who we allow dictate how we live and think, influencing our social norms and even our emotions through social media and the online world. Sometimes I wonder when it will all end. Then on the flip side people in the 60s believed a pill could substitute a meal and social eating would be a thing of the past yet the restaurant industry thrived and the food industry is huge.

It could go on of either two ways in my opinion. It could take over a lot of different jobs leaving humans free to work less, pursue their passions and spend their waking hours connecting with their loved ones.

Or people will just find another way to keep working people into the ground.