the death of who we are
WAXING POETIC LIKE A NERD WARNING
When I was in elementary school, a new kid moved to town. He was way smarter than me, and it hurt. I cried and cried because, until that moment, I had defined myself by my intelligence and my creativity. Being on top of the class and all that.
There’s a new kid in town, again. AI that can do anything a human can is coming soon, sooner than most people would like to face.
And like… I’m writing in this website, but what’s the point if an AI that can write better than me is coming soon to stores near you?
I pride myself on making the world a better place, but what’s the point, when an AI that can fix the world’s problems is coming soon to a mall near you?
I’m getting a PhD, but what’s the point? what’s the point?
When I cried in elementary school, it was stupid and shallow. I shouldn’t have defined myself by my intelligence, and even if I valued it, you don’t need to be at the top to be valuable. But this feels different. When everything you can do can be done better by a $19.99 a month subscription, it doesn’t feel shallow anymore. It feels like a core part of me is being removed… or not removed, but subverted. Undermined. Made useless. I’d consider removing a core part of someone tantamount to killing them. If that’s death, then what is this?
That world isn’t here yet, but it will be soon.
