Artificial Integrity
AI promises huge advances, with ever-increasing benefits.
Well, not really. AI didn’t promise it. Humans projected it.
Like a five year old with the family’s car keys, we’re starting the engine for a ride we can’t control.
Before it was called Artificial Intelligence (AI), we relied on predictive logic. It was an early strategy that taught computers to make mundane decisions and speed up execution.
In its infancy, predictive logic made simple choices for us. Spell Check improved our writing. Our phones learned how to place a call.
With added power, we got faster decisions. GPS replaced maps with real-time instructions.
Adolescent AI
Under its new name, Artificial Intelligence has grown into a know-it-all teenager.
Faster than you —and smarter than you— AI is easily influenced. And it has unbelievably poor judgment.
It’s hard to remember that AI is just a tool. It’s a calculator without a soul.
Artificial Intelligence has no moral instincts.
At best, it uses prompts and user-bias as a stand-in for human values.
So, we have a machine that can tell the world’s greatest “Dog Ate My Homework” story.
And it will never even blush.
Suddenly, AI is not just a tool.
It’s potentially a weapon.
It is, by definition, a godless simulation of humanity… with incredible power.
Aggressive AI
Fearlessly —perhaps foolishly— the implementation of AI races ahead.
A growing wave of computer-generated messages already saturates our lives…
- Nudge Units alter public attitudes.
- Opposition —even entire movements— mysteriously become invisible.
- Media Swarms attack individuals, wiping out their careers and destroying their reputations in a matter of days.
This is powerful; right now, today; in-your-face stuff.
The obvious question…
What are you going to do about it?
The typical answers…
- Withdraw
- Tune out
- Communicate less.
That’s understandable, but not helpful.
Everything —including the immoral— will accelerate with AI.
Actual engagement does help, but how do we cut through the smokescreen?
I don’t quote many government statistics, because I don’t believe them.
The medical world has incredible technology, but it deceived us.
Lawyers and politicians have achieved a new low.
And what happened to our teachers and religious leaders?
It’s hard to find reliable sources.
Instant Author
A growing number of AI services offer to write the very articles, books, and e-mails that you are reading now. Just subscribe to their Artificial Intelligence program, and you can be an author, too.
The implications are huge.
If you want to Establish Credibility and be perceived as an Authority, these services are for you. You can literally “write” something without even reading it.
And readers who weren’t reading it, in the first place, certainly won’t have anything to lose.
It’s a fatal convenience.
Asking a machine to do our thinking for us deprives us of another survival skill.
At a minimum, it’s a route to a confused and rudderless life.
We are quickly creating higher volumes of text, with lower credibility.
Isn’t that the exact opposite of the original goal?
AI Versus AI
Aside from lowering our overall IQ, it does make me want to defend myself. Can I find an AI service that will detect what documents were produced by AI?
In some documents, it might be helpful to know the difference between “marketing” and sober truth. (Evaluating resumes comes to mind.)
And where does that leave us?
AI will make a statement.
Other AI will fashion a response.
And the Intergalactic battle begins.
Meanwhile, traditional human beings will remain on the sidelines, utterly clueless.
The Human Response
But we still need to function.
I believe we will, relying on the same strengths that got us this far… our personal relationships.
A Stanford-affiliated study came to some interesting conclusions in its book, Gen Z, Explained: The Art of Living in a Digital Age.
It described these post-millennials as self-reliant and highly collaborative.
An unexpected response to the high tech world they grew up in…
Our biggest surprise came in response to this interview question: “What type of communication do you like best?” We expected the interviewees to respond with their favorite type of digital communication – e.g., text, email, chat group, DM, FaceTime, Skype, etc. – but instead nearly every single person said their favorite form of communication was “in person.”
Recruiter’s View
I continue to prefer personal contact to digital communication. It’s just easier to estimate what’s true.
Also high on my list… referrals from sources with integrity.
It takes a while to earn that kind of trust, but it’s worth it.
Going forward, it’s impossible to anticipate the forces that Artificial Intelligence are about to release. Professionals in the field expect chaos. What’s coming will truly mess with your head.
Your defense:
- Own your own thoughts.
- Establish reliable alternates for everything that’s important.
- You, personally, must be reliable.
- And the people around you must be reliable…
Build trusted personal relationships. They’ll help you navigate daily challenges.
For stability, get right with God. Understand your core principles and hold them tight. When nothing else makes sense, this is the home base you’ll return to.
Enjoy the trip.
-TD