And yes, Artificial Intelligence is here. It is circulating among us and is being used by individuals and businesses. It is the honeymoon period. Everyone is happy and few are worried. Like the first iPhone, when we were given the opportunity to put the first touchscreen with internet in our pocket.
Let's recall history a little because it has something to teach us.
The first iPhone (1st generation), also known as the iPhone 2G, was introduced by Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007. It revolutionized mobile devices as it combined a mobile phone, iPod, and internet device with a 3,5-inch touchscreen, eliminating the physical keyboard.
So let's remember what happened immediately after its release... Billions of new devices with touch screens, the mobile phone came out of the pocket and is now an extension of our hand.
Why are we writing all this? We are currently living in a period of testing by the public, development, and even copying by the companies that are preparing Artificial Intelligence.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with AI writing your emails or helping you summarize meetings. But the kind of AI that's already replacing real jobs, like customer support, programming, design, and even journalism.
It's already happening.
So somewhere here things start to look different from previous technological revolutions.
When factories were automated, new jobs appeared. When the internet exploded, entire industries were born. There was always a trade. Difficulty in one sector was opportunity in another.
But AI doesn't just replace manual labor. It replaces thinking. It replaces creativity. It replaces the kinds of jobs that we thought were safe because they required a human brain. When that happens on a larger scale, what will millions of people do?
Today we have income, we earn and spend money, and the system keeps moving. If a huge number of people suddenly can't find meaningful work, that cycle will start to break down.
You can't have a consumer economy without consumers.
What will happen to the average person when Artificial Intelligence evolves? The office worker whose tasks are automated. The freelancer who suddenly can't compete with the tools of Artificial Intelligence. The graduate who enters a job market that is shrinking instead of growing. All of these are not abstract ideas. They are the coming reality that is coming with the speed that touch screens came.
What will happen to mortgages and rents?
If AI concentrates wealth even more at the top while emptying the middle, what will happen? There are already tensions about inequality. Now add AI to the equation. Does that sound like a recipe for success? And if so, for whom?
Besides all that, work gives people structure. Purpose. Identity. If AI takes that away from a large portion of the population, we won't just be dealing with an economic shift, but something deeper.
These questions don't have easy answers, but pretending they don't exist and never will is pointless.
All of this hasn't happened yet, and there will certainly be a gap. A transitional period where old jobs will start to disappear faster than new ones appear. Of course, this gap could be painful for many.
I want to believe that we are realistic about what is coming and that there are think tanks discussing the onslaught of AI. There should be some kind of basic support to keep society stable when traditional work is no longer available to everyone.
To prevent the above from happening, we should start talking about them now (or better yet, yesterday)
Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.
