Ah, to be Bill Gates! To live a life of luxury and optimism, certain that your wealth and position will immunize you against all of society's ills and terrors, with the possible exception of nuclear war. And even then, you probably have a contingency plan. Let's face it: if you are Bill Gates, it is going to take a lot to wipe the smile off your face.
The elites have pulled out all the stops against DOGE and the current administration in part because they enjoy money, power, and self-assigned prestige. But they also want to make sure that should the world go to hell in a custom-built handbasket, they will be as safe as possible from the fallout, literal or figurative. So Bill can whistle a happy tune when he talks about the wonders of AI while tacitly acknowledging the fact that it could make many of us unnecessary within a decade.
CNBC has a piece about Gates' comments regarding the rise of AI and its impact on working people. Specifically, Gates has predicted that a decade from now, humans will not be needed for "most things." He told Jimmy Kimmel that for the present, we still rely on humans to be doctors or teachers, but in the coming years, AI will be used for "medical advice" and "tutoring." You may not have a high opinion of the medical profession or teachers, but Gates' prediction will likely apply to most other vocations as well, possibly yours.
In other words, the world is entering a new era of what Gates called “free intelligence,” in an interview last month with Harvard University professor and happiness expert Arthur Brooks. The result will be rapid advances in AI-powered technologies that are accessible and touch nearly every aspect of our lives; Gates has said, from improved medicines and diagnoses to widely available AI tutors and virtual assistants.
“It’s very profound and even a little bit scary — because it’s happening very quickly, and there is no upper bound,” Gates told Brooks.
I have heard arguments that AI should be embraced as yet another implement in humanity's ever-growing toolkit. But for how long? The article quotes Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman, author of “The Coming Wave,” who anticipates that AI will negatively impact the workforce:
These tools will only temporarily augment human intelligence. They will make us smarter and more efficient for a time and unlock enormous amounts of economic growth, but they are fundamentally labor-replacing.
AI doesn't just threaten us with obsolescence from without, but from within. I have heard several talk show hosts remark that they have turned to Grok to do their research for them. They enter a query, wait a few seconds, and sift through the results. It's certainly convenient, but the act of research, the act of digging, sifting, and discerning that comes with the laborious process of discovery, engages parts of the brain that may atrophy if we outsource that activity to an algorithm.
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When I moved to Utah, one of my first jobs was in a saddle shop. I am not particularly good with my hands, but I turned out to be fairly skilled at making reins. Don't be too impressed; reins aren't that hard to make. I will never forget turning out my first set or my surprise that a local rancher came in and purchased a few. I could have never imagined that I would make something that someone would want to buy. There is a certain satisfaction to that which cannot be achieved through anything else. Our ability to create things, whether for profit or out of pure joy, is one of the aspects of life that sets us apart from the animals. It is one of the things that makes us human.
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