I’d like to coin a new hybrid word, I call it AI-pathy.
Sure, it doesn’t roll off the tongue, but I think it speaks to a trend we’re likely to see play out in the years ahead.
As the world fundamentally transforms and artificial intelligence makes our lives easier, will humans become lazier?
Need to go to the shops? Don’t lift your arms, the Tesla cab will drive you.
Want to build an app? Relax, the coding will be done in minutes.
Need that sofa moved upstairs? Your friendly humanoid robot is there to help, courtesy of the latest vision-language action model.
Of course, this is nothing completely new. People have been asking Alexa to send them groceries for years.
But what feels unexplored is what this means for human agency. If we become lazy, will we become apathetic towards life?
When decisions are taken away, when choices or tasks are removed, there is a risk of a great malaise.
This has implications for another trend we’re likely to see continue in the years ahead – a deterioration in people’s mental health.
The thrill of driving in the fast lane? Gone
The satisfaction of uncovering a bug in your code? Nope
The joy of ticking that boring task off the to-do list? Not this time
We’ve already seen an AI backlash from people worried about AI taking jobs or using your data.
As we head down a long and uncertain path, broader questions about what the revolution means for the human condition await.
What do you think? Or should we just ask ChatGPT?