AI Doesn't Think: How Humans Can Beat Machines

• Inspired by the "Chat 9000" of this week's Redlion Gazette,
• It's important to look at both AI tech and ourselves to determine some of the impacts and opportunities presented by ChatGPT and machine learning.
• Hodling your humanity and developing creative skills may actually present a job opportunity!

The interminable dross of ChatGPT simps has got to stop. Claims ranging from “Machines are sentient” to “you can now start 100 businesses and let AI do all the work” are ridiculous. Yes, as Elon Musk put it, “ChapGPT is scary good.” But no, this tool is not infallible; it doesn’t have all the answers; and as a matter of fact, ChatGPT is WRONG a lot of the time. Despite this, the potential for these impressive and irrepressibly improving machines is very clear. AI is here to stay. As it becomes more sophisticated, there is both a danger and a great opportunity present to all of humankind–the catch is, in order to cash in this opportunity, you’ve got to use your brain.

The danger of AI is relatively obvious. The more we let AI do our writing–and whatever other future tasks it takes over–the less self-reliant people become. Given the trends for declining patience AND declining intelligence amongst humans, this does not bode well for society. 

The biggest issue that nobody seems to talk about is this: machines don’t think–they aggregate. This means they have literally, programmatically, ZERO creativity. Even though the chat tool can answer a wide variety of questions accurately, it relies on the accumulated knowledge of humanity. If no one thinks for themselves in the future, what prevents society from becoming super stagnant? Hopefully we aren’t racing towards this future. A preponderance of zero-creativity, aggregated content paired with an impatient and cognitively declining population sounds rough. From this standpoint, AI is already dangerous.

Amidst the concerns about these impacts on society, there are also great opportunities for those who can “defeat” AI. Think about it, if a huge amount of the future’s content is made with aggregating bots, most of that content will start to blend together. ChatGPT’s answers are already clean, accurate and sterile. There’s not much personality there! For the patient humans who can harness the power of their creative minds, there will be a place at the top of the content pyramid.

Humans can THINK. We can create completely imagined scenarios, worlds, characters, and endless other ideas. We have EMOTION. Only a human can accurately contextualize their feelings in a cathartic way that is relatable and authentic to an audience. Lastly, (most) people have EMPATHY. We are able to experience and communicate the feelings of another. This is yet another gift of our conscious minds that AI can never fully recreate. Empathy empowers storytelling and broadens the perspectives of people who can’t physically be everywhere and experience everything natively. Compared to an aggregated AI account of some event, an empathetic writer has an enormous advantage.

Harnessing one’s own humanity will be a survival tool in the future. Given trends in automation, and early discussions about Universal Basic income, there’s a chance that the future’s ONLY jobs will be creative in nature. Thus, thinking, feeling, relating, and creating might become a type of essential and skilled work.

Will there be a war against the machines? Who knows. Obviously that is far off. For now, it seems clear that humans are at war with their own best interests. The easy way out is to use a chatbot and let your skills atrophy–the temptation and convenience of a quick answer is compelling. Resist. The best way to fight the machines, and do right by your own brain, is to think! Never forget that in the hustle and YOLO FOMO times of the 21st Century, there really isn’t any need to rush what you’re doing. If you are patient and mindful about whatever task is in front of you, your internal algorithm will create new solutions and ideas that the world has never seen before! The world needs creative minds. The world will reward creative minds. Start thinking and stop letting the machines win.