I like and am intrigued as much as anyone by AI, and see all the useful applications for it, plus there’s probably a ton I haven’t heard of and even more that nobody’s thought of yet.
That said, we aren’t out of the paradigm shift in society the internet has brought, and I see the potential AI has to bring another. I’m not sure how I feel about that, or if we need one. I’m relatively young and reminisce about my life before the internet - I’m lucky to have lived a whole 12 years before I had even heard of what the internet was, and I was grown before it became a constant instead of a novelty. I remember vividly my first time hearing of the word “Google”. I was an excite.com guy, if that shows my age. My reaction was a deadpan and honest “what the hell is Google?”
Social Media and the internet has shown us the dangers of technology outpacing our ability to properly weigh the pros and cons. Everything is so impersonal and anxiety and depression are quite high. I don’t see AI helping that, but then maybe that’s where the magic of AI will prove us wrong, or not.
An AI for a skilled doctor to reference for inspiration on helping out a patient or uncovering a puzzling diagnosis is great, but having the doctor as the robot and the AI as the doctor sounds like a problem. I don’t want a doctor who is just really good at reading and following directions.
How much is a degree to become a doctor these days? The cost of living, the cost of an education, and the rise of AI coupled with our learn-as-you-go approach to these influential technologies gives me concern.
But I have no control so I’ll enjoy the show.