Define Inevitable

Generative AI is ultimately a MAGA conversation

Every possible conversation about anything involves Trump at this point.

Including AI. I’ll show you:

Of course what we call “AI” today is about as meaningful as “cloud computing,” we all know by now that about 70% of what is being labeled AI is a scam. But believe me, AI is real in the sense there’s a new leap in “computing” that poses an existential threat. We will have AGI, and we will regret it. That said, my position on “AI” as an advanced form of computing tools has evolved.

I’ve said AI is evil, and that still holds.

I’ve said don’t use it, and that still holds (for most people.)

The reason you shouldn’t use it on an individual level is the same reason giving your kid an iPad is bad. It’s inherently bad for a number of reasons, among them that it’s the deadly screen exposure time, but also because it replaces healthy behaviors, and adds easy buttons to things that shouldn’t have them. Creates a miserable scroller, not a happy player. (No, moderation doesn’t help.)

Just as an iPad stunts a child’s development by encouraging frictionless interaction and enabling a fruitless, depressive childhood, everything magically “de-labored” by AI leads to a deconditioned body and mind, and an shortfall of skill, patience, and fortitude.

You could say this about every labor-saving tech, but you shouldn’t say that, because it’s a bad faith argument. A quantum leap is not the same as a hop. Ever.

One reason it’s bad to use it at the societal/global level is because it de-labors the labor market. The more easy buttons, the less jobs, and more importantly, the less jobs that provide what we call “meaningful labor.” More button-pushers, less skilled and capable workers, less confident and satisfied humans, the less confident and satisfied humans, the more totalitarian solutions arise. Another reason it’s bad is because it lowers the bar on quality, as companies choose “good enough” over “good” for a fraction of the price. Inevitably.

The killer robot is a red herring, obviously. (For the moment.)

But it’s too late for all this talk, you say, the future is here, what can we do but adapt? True, in some ways. And yet, as they burn yet another chicken/egg plant, I will remind you that you can still keep your own chickens and produce your own food. And you can still raise a child without screens. You can still play the old games, watch the old movies with your kids, read them the old books. You not only can, it’s about the only choice left if you want a child who becomes a healthy, capable adult.

Nearly every major threat to our existence today has been labeled “inevitable.” Take a second to think about the meaning of that word. Do you accept this is as a hard line and that you no longer have a choice in the matter? Because if you don’t accept that, it’s not inevitable, but a probability. Why would we use the word “inevitable” for something we know so little about?

The world is ultimately arriving at a MAGA moment, where the “inevitable” is being challenged by what you could argue is the most powerful populist phenomenon in history. They lead with a slogan that looks backward and forward at the same time. To Make America Great Again (in the future) we must examine what was great about it (in the past.)

Think it was never great? You’re lying.