Let's use technology to solve real problems facing humanity.
Long before the advent of smartphones and binge-watching, everyday life was different than it is today. Very differentTo survive, people had to constantly battle against the elements, predators, and terrible challenges like starvation and disease. Moving huge stones to build a home or transporting masses of carcasses to eat took incredible strength, countless hours, and sometimes the cooperation of an entire tribe. Such backbreaking labor seemed like an inevitable part of existence. Then, one fateful day, a stroke of incredible ingenuity changed everything.
I'm talking about the wheels, of course.
This simple invention revolutionized life. People no longer had to drag their loads over rough terrain. They could harness the power of the wheel to ease the toil. From the carts of ancient civilizations to today's high-speed bullet trains and internal combustion engines, the wheel has remained an essential part of human travel. The wheel solves a pressing problem.
And as the saying goes, “necessity is the mother of invention.”
Of course, business owners know all too well that every great innovation begins with an immediate problem to solve. For example, the printing press emerged to address the tedious and time-consuming task of reproducing text by hand. Before the printing press, manuscripts had to be meticulously copied by scribes, a process prone to error and limited by the scribe's speed and accuracy.
Later, the introduction of the typewriter sped up the writing process, making time-consuming handwriting a thing of the past. It also brought uniformity, speed, and efficiency to document production, significantly reducing the effort required to write a document.
Word processors provided such a productivity boost. Suddenly, everyone from grade school kids to famous authors were accustomed to using computers to write, edit, and share their works. And finally, today, sophisticated chatbots and AI-driven text generation tools are transforming the writing environment again by delivering content creation capabilities.
Without a doubt, AI is already profoundly changing our approach to technology. Artificial intelligence is not just the latest buzzword; new developments are happening every day.
But are these the developments we need? Not really.
Current uses of AI have always skewed toward the mundane, streamlining mundane tasks with astonishing efficiency. (Example: Are modern humans, who don’t move a stone, really so lazy that they need Netflix to recommend their next movie, or Amazon to tell them which book they should read?) Other typical uses of AI, like writing personalized wedding toasts or greeting cards for loved ones, seem similarly unnecessary.
But are these really the pressing issues that are keeping us up at night? (When you were a dreamy kid, did you envision technology that would allow you to write a month's worth of social media posts? We don't think so!)
If we think about it carefully, we can see that artificial intelligence is replacing the wrong kinds of labor, especially creativity. To be clear, today's AI does not fit into the tradition that “necessity breeds innovation.”
Instead, you are solving a pseudo problem.
This is not a Luddite rant. This is a cry for a course correction. teeth A compelling AI application worth considering. Translation comes to mind. Imagine what would happen if language barriers disappeared? It's possible. After all, AI is great at taking large data sets and interpreting them quickly, enabling accurate translation in real time.
Another transformational example is improving medical diagnosis. Instead of relying solely on the limited cognitive abilities of doctors, AI can predict medical conditions and connect the dots in incredible ways that humans simply can't. These applications have the potential to not only save more lives, but also make the world a better place.
And if I can be a little selfish here, I'd love to see an AI-powered massage robot built. Imagine if an AI masseuse could learn how to give a better deep tissue massage with each use. That would be the perfect Christmas gift. As long as the AI masseuse doesn't turn its back on you. Westworld style.
For now, my criticism is directed at limited thinking about AI.
Take self-driving cars for example. They are a roundabout solution to the traffic crisis. In a country plagued by massive infrastructure problems, AI-piloted vehicles are only a Band-Aid, and it's too late. Instead, we can leverage the problem-solving capabilities of AI to design the flying cars promised in 2010. Back to the Future Part IIIncidentally, AI might even beat the hoverboard. (Imagine flying into work for kids in a few years' time. My flight playlist will no doubt include hits by Huey Lewis & the News.)
Going forward, when considering emerging technologies like AI, we need to ask ourselves: What is the fundamental problem to be solved? Are we so focused on short-term gains and temporary fixes that we are ignoring the bigger picture? And how can AI create long-term solutions to address big, difficult challenges like aging infrastructure?
It's time to get back to the wheel and the idea that technology solves real problems instead of infantilizing us, and demand that tomorrow's innovators pay attention to what matters. What we need is dehumanizing innovation that makes us dumber, less creative, and more isolated. Instead, let's dream bigger and imagine how AI can help humanity take its next giant leap.
At the very least, hire an AI masseuse, OK?
