The following (disorganized) reflection is my attempt to grasp my own scrawny place in the hurricane of artificial intelligence. I'm not trying to make any audacious claims, talk gloom, or speak rashly. I'm only trying collect my own thoughts about, what seems to me, an inevitable future and how I'd like to proceed forwards.
On unemployment
Just like the Great Depression, I have no doubt that intelligent creatures will change the demands for talent in the job market. The time scale, industries, type of profession are up in the air. In the near future, I'm sure that softer skills such as public speaking or personable relationships will be emphasized.
On meaning
In all honesty, this has been a source of uneasy internal dialogue for a while. Work can often times be a source of purpose for people; I know that without it, I am withering. As highly intelligent creatures take over our own ability to provide value to one another, we are forced to find more niche areas to provide value or even redefine our purpose. (To state the simple: we've come a far road since our tribal selves and our psychological traits that remain, where the psychological need for meaning was simply providing value to the immediate tribe.)
This sentiment has surfaced throughout times like the lowly father during the Great Depression or the prisoners at the Auschwitz concentration camps or the factory workers manufacturing weapons during the war. Each time, philosophers and poets test and ponder upon the ubiquitous feelings.
Upon reflection, I believe some of the reasons I've been motivated for doing some of the things I do is a profound enjoyment and "safe feeling" in them, a sense of purpose and meaning in the work, a deep belief that something great lies over the horizon if I strive for it. It is nothing but some calling that whispers from the heart, perhaps rubbed off by Lincoln, Woody Gurthrie, and Bob Dylan.
Unfortunately, I cannot answer how humans will resolve their sense of purpose in future since I don't know how the world will look in 5 or 10 years. However, if the insatiable desire for meaning persists, I have no doubt that some of the population will forcefully find a way to create and find purpose.
On education
What will the purpose of education serve when there are an abundance of intelligent creatures? There are already many intelligent humans. Education is about learning to think, which is essential for a variety of cases where uncertainty is omnipresent. We learn to make informed decisions as active democratic participants, to be able to provide value to the economy, and make informed decisions about our own lives. (In many cases, providing value through creation of new technologies requires an understanding from first principles) In the near future, I would still like to see children educated to better navigate all these scenarios.
In the near future, I believe we'll see a symbiotic relationship with AI as presented by Sal Khan. These intelligent creatures will take on the role of a Socratic peer tutor, interactive teacher, or historical figure that you can engage with. Education may be changed for the better?
In more distant future, these intelligent creatures will vastly surpass our fleshy tissues and no amount of education will suffice to catch up these machines. They will, of course, have an evolutionary advantage and if we were to keep up with their evolution, we'd need to merge with them. Arguably, I'm not sure if this is something I'd have to worry about in my lifetime; might as well worry about the heat death of the universe. If the day comes, this'll be an issue left for the future generations. At that point, such technologies would be so normalized that these aren't even strange or depressing. The progression of mankind, if it were to want to keep up technological evolution, would need to evolve beyond the limits of natural flesh.
On human connection
I believe that intelligent creatures will become a part of friends (and maybe family). As seen in ELIZA, we can easily develop human connections with answering machines. I'm sure some people will intelligent tools in many ways.
To me, artificial intelligence is but a tool; we use dishwashers to free us washing dishes, but I don't look for human connection with a dishwasher. Until our psychology is better understood, I hope parents allow children to develop in regular social groups. Developing friends with intelligent creatures have unknown repercussions. The human psyche is a mystery that I have never solved.
On safety
These intelligent creatures will look upon us the way we look at ants. At this point, no human alive can accurately predict what will happen. It is futile for me to predict what will happen and when it will happen. All I hope is that research scientists proceed cautiously.
...
When I become profoundly confused, I like to take walks. It gives me the space to reason from first principles. In many ways, intelligent creatures won't change me in any fundamental way. It won't change my fundamental beliefs. It won't change my pursuit to contributing in my small, unique way. It won't change my philosophical (fundamental) perspectives on human meaning as this ain't a new perspective I haven't encountered before. There's always a lot confusion; that's been the case ever since early adulthood. Since all these fundamental beliefs haven't changed, there is no reason to stop moving forwards.