the future of AI?
In this third and final blog post, let’s take a look at where AI might be heading in the future.
Grace et al. from Berkeley, Bonn, and Oxford published a preprint in 2024 in which they present results from a survey given to “2,778 researchers who had published in top-tier artificial
intelligence (AI) venues, asking for their predictions on the pace of AI progress and the nature and impacts of advanced AI systems” (Grace et al. 1)
The survey asked about the likely timeline for future AI developments, as well as potential risks.
The above is a sample of some of their results (Grace et al. 1).
In my opinion, this would be tremendous if it’s true. The idea of AI installing wiring in a house is especially interesting to me. Until now, I’ve mostly seen AI handle computational tasks that are in the domain of digital technologies and products. So for AI to move into the “real world” and install wiring in a house, would be really interesting.
The idea of AI fully automating all human jobs in about 100 years is also really interesting to think about. But I do wonder whether they’re only referring to all human jobs that exist today. And what would humans do if they didn’t have to work anymore? I’m sure that idea feels very appealing to many (the majority?) of people. But I think many people underestimate what their job gives them, more than just a paycheck. Because it can be challenging to find things to do that are meaningful, without the structure that a job gives you. Having the obligation of a job provides a kind of anchor that someone’s job is built around. If they enjoy their job, then it’s something to look forward to. If they don’t, then the job might serve as an impetus to seek satisfaction/fulfillment elsewhere. Either way, the job gives you some kind of orientation.
Imagine that you were back in high school. The summer break was such a sweet time for most of us. It meant freedom from responsibilities and from the school schedule. But if you can, imagine not having to go to school at all, and having all of your time as “free time”. I think maybe the summer break only felt good because we had the regular school year.
In fact, it is a common problem that retired people face, that in retirement they experience a diminished sense of purpose.
I wonder if AI might be able to help with existential questions about life and meaning. That would be really remarkable, if AI could help people become more “enlightened” in some sense. Eastern religious/spiritual traditions talk about the underlying “oneness” of everything. So if AI could help to reveal that, I think that’d be really cool.
There are already startup companies that are working on AI therapists. But I wonder if one day, AI could act as a priest, guru, or shaman for us. Or even some kind of god. I am sure that we already think of AI as god-like, in many ways.
Thanks for reading my blog posts!
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