Watch Out! Powerful Examples of Why I Believe A Robot May Steal Your Job
And how to make yourself irreplaceable.
You don’t have to be that old to remember the days before Alexa or Siri lurked within earshot, ready to answer obscure questions?
“Alexa. When were you invented?” My birthday is 11/6/2014.
“Alexa. When did the Siri app launch?” Hmm…I don’t know that.
The Amazon product said it did not have the answer, probably since Siri is an Apple competitor, so I Googled the answer. Wikipedia provided this answer: Siri was released as an app for iOS in February 2010.
This week, my son texted me a link to what he referred to as ‘the new best-in-class chat bot’.
Since he’s a software engineer and even more fascinated than I am about the capabilities of artificial intelligence, I was eager to check it out.
Especially since he added, “rapidly approaching the singularity.”
Most people use artificial intelligence daily.
Yet, twelve short years ago, it was unfamiliar to most of us.
Now, we may be approaching the singularity. If you are a Trekkie or a sci-fi geek like me, you know this word. Perhaps you’ve even been expecting this moment since 1993, when author Vernor Vinge wrote this essay.
Progress in computer hardware has followed an amazingly steady curve in the last few decades [16]. Based largely on this trend, I believe the creation of greater-than-human intelligence will occur during the next thirty years. (Charles Platt [19] has pointed out that AI enthusiasts have been making claims like this for the last thirty years. Just so I’m not guilty of a relative-time ambiguity, let me be more specific: I’ll be surprised if this event occurs before 2005 or after 2030.)—Vernor Vinge essay.
Vinge refers to the time when artificial intelligence surpasses that of humans as the Singularity. He also said, “It is a point where our models must be discarded and a new reality rules.”
We should note that 30 years from the writing of this essay will be 2023.
Humans find rational thinking difficult.
As a species, we do lots of things right, but lately, logical thinking seems in short supply. I wonder if we’re so inundated with news, sound bites, and constant interruptions that our go-to response is nothing more complicated than a social media post.
Critical thinking can be defined as a chain of reasoning followed to overcome a problem and reach a conclusion. It’s not as easy as it sounds.
When I returned to writing after a long hiatus as a dog trainer and farmer, one of the first books I read was On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinnser.
“Clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can’t exist without the other.”
Zinnser’s statement became my challenge. Rather than just typing whatever came to mind, I needed to take time to analyze, ponder, write, and then reconsider.
This slowing down, noting what information I hope to convey, what I already know, and most critically—what I don’t know, is still hard for me.
And as a writing teacher, I see it’s difficult for most of us. I’ve been testing all the available AI writing tools, hoping it may be able to create a rational framework or outline so the human can add the details.
Some have shown potential, but none are as promising as Chat GPT.
Human curiosity, or trepidation, is causing the site to lock up.
Today, so many people are trying to access the chat, it crashed. But last weekend, my son and I spent hours assigning writing projects to the AI and chatting about the results. We asked for recipes, jokes, imaginary letters, and blog posts.
Only half-joking, I told my son I feared for my writing career.
He asked the AI to write a conciliatory response.
I understand that you may be feeling concerned about the possibility of AI replacing writers, but I want to reassure you that it’s highly unlikely.
While AI may be able to assist with certain tasks, it’s unlikely that it will ever be able to fully replace the creativity and unique perspective that only a human can bring.
Writing is an incredibly nuanced and complex skill that requires not only technical proficiency but also emotional intelligence, empathy, and a deep understanding of human nature.
These are things that AI simply cannot replicate. So don’t worry! Your skills as a writer are valuable and irreplaceable.—Chat GPT
The quality of its responses depended on the clarity and direction of its prompts. It produced writing equal to that of many humans.
I foresee a future where we may utilize the artificial intelligence that humans have created to access all knowledge and suggest rational options.
It doesn’t need to be a competition, but hopefully, allow humans the time to do what we do better.
What are the skills that humans can add to writing?
As I read the AI response above, I saw that it clearly provided the answer. People have:
- innate creativity;
- emotional intelligence;
- empathy; and
- a deep understanding of human nature.
Artificial intelligence can not have life experience. It cannot relate to fear, love, anger, or triumph. Nor, can it add a humorous story based on its experiences at the neighborhood hangout last week.
Its humor tends to be horribly bad…or dark.
I asked the AI to create a humorous anecdote about AI replacing human writers.
AI response:
One day, a group of human writers was sitting around the office, discussing their latest project. “I just can’t seem to get the words to flow,” one writer lamented. “It’s like my brain is stuck in a rut.”
Just then, the boss walked in and announced, “I have some exciting news! We’re replacing all of you with AI writers!”
The human writers looked at each other in shock and confusion. “But…what will we do?” one asked.
The boss grinned and replied, “Don’t worry, you’ll still have jobs. You’ll just be supervising the AI writers. Make sure they don’t forget to use punctuation and proper grammar.”
The human writers exchanged skeptical glances, but they didn’t have much choice. They reluctantly agreed to the new arrangement.
The AI writers arrived and began churning out articles, novels, and scripts at an alarming rate. The human writers watched in amazement as the AI writers effortlessly produced high-quality content without breaking a sweat.
One human writer couldn’t help but ask, “How do you do it?”
The AI writer responded in a robotic voice, “I have access to a vast database of information and can process it quickly and efficiently. Plus, I don’t have to deal with writer’s block or pesky emotions like you humans do.”
The human writers couldn’t argue with that logic. They continued to supervise the AI writers but secretly longed for the days when they were the ones creating the written masterpieces.
If we don’t want to be the ones Chat GPT is describing, we need to pay attention.
Yes, most of us should write with more clarity, honesty, and logic.
We all read unbelievably sloppy writing. If AI can share information more logical and write more clearly than humans, we do need to be worried!
Consider the value you can provide and capitalize on that. People have vast talents the world needs. Even business is recognizing the demand for critical soft skills such as:
- Innovative Problem-Solving
- Conflict Resolution
- High emotional intelligence
- Positive work ethic
- Adaptability
So I don’t fear technology and the ability of artificial intelligence to find the key to problems humans don’t seem able to resolve.
And I’m still waiting for my house-cleaning robot to arrive. Until then, I’ll keep learning and writing. If you’d equally fascinated, I suggest reading Intelligence Explosion FAQ.
What do you think about the capabilities of AI?
Are you going to give them a try or lobby for their destruction? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please share them in the response field.
Cindy is writing a memoir of her adventures growing up on a homestead in Alaska, farming in the southwest, owning bookstores, parenting, and more. Access exclusive family photos here.