Methinks I suppose the question becomes … now what?
Ashton Kutcher (could he have been any better typecast than Kelso? Methinks not) recently took some heat for stating the obvious … which the Hollywood strikes of ‘23/’24 protested … that Hollywood, that cauldron of magic and mystery, will be controlled entirely by AI.
No more producers, directors, actors, stagehands, boom operators (which is what, exactly), electricians … the credit scroll at the end of the film will be replaced by an ad for the AI company that generated the movie.
We are the architects of our own destruction. How so very Icarus of us.
OK, so then what? People (typically investors in the latest/greatest – I see you, Christopher) – are always quick to claim that those in an obsolete industry will simply have to adapt.
And if they don’t?
Are there suicide statistics on coachmen at the advent of the automobile? Or lamplighters upon the introduction of electricity? Or gong farmers after the invention of the toilet?
The beauty of those old jobs (even including of the farmer of the gong) was that societal introduction and acceptance of these new technologies was slow … not every household had or could afford a car, electricity, or indoor plumbing the moment those inventions hit the market.
Now, however, all the talk around AI is that a person needs to get on board right now or get run over. There are estimates that AI will kill 300 million jobs currently done by actual humans … yes, that is just about the population of the US … and not sure what those folks are going to do to live.
Well, chaos, anarchy, massive civil unrest is likely, but the Zuck and Oprah have compounds in Maui, so guess they’re set. {Habakkuk 2:12}
The Matrix, Elysium, and Black Mirror’s 15M credits … predictive programming, all. And the tsunami of disruption to be caused by AI does not seem to be a serious part of the conversation.
There’s video of an AI robot making 100-percent of its 3-pt shots, but somehow lacks the same visual, visceral thrill of the Splash Bros or the Joker on the court. Even though with all the inconsistent nonsensical penalties (“spearing”? really?) the NFL will soon turn into the National Flag (Football) League (then the guuuhhhrrrlls can play sneer) methinks a robot could never make a catch like OBJ / will use geometric trajectories to throw a perfect pass every time … BOH-RING. Just imagine the Terminator doing the knee slide after scoring a goal … I am shook.
I suppose sports could go the way of Rollerball, the original not that mess of a remake, or perhaps King’s Running Man (the book, not that mess of a movie).
After all, King did predict school shootings (Rage) and planes into skyscrapers (see the aforementioned Running Man … always thought Rutger Hauer should have played Ben Richards but he’s dead), maybe even an Ozempic cocktail, á la Thinner. Bachman is a scary, scary guy. A genuine Dark Half?
At any rate, as more and more modern workers get ousted by AI, methinks elective euthanasia will become more and more … palatable. No pets, no debts, no minor children, with final disposition of remains arranged beforehand to be eligible.
People will stop buying houses, new cars, or education, the birth rate will drop to near zero, and people will check out of Hotel Life as soon as Dorito and/or Mr. Fluffins departs to the other side.
Seems like a bit of gloom, but suppose the real question is … does AI owe a debt to people?
Sam Altman, main guy at OpenAI, half-joked back in 2015 that “AI will probably most likely” kill off humanity but “in the meantime, there’ll be great companies.” Translation: A meager few will get stupidly rich until the species is wiped out, so it’s all good.
Guess I answered my own question.