“Is the information age just a euphemism for a new religion?”
New, no chance. Religion, maybe. Technology is but our final liberator and our enslaver. We depend on it, many trust it, some reject it completely. From antiquity Plato warned us not to shackle ourselves to it; Aristotle implored us to embrace its freedoms, for technology imitates nature, and ourselves.
Today, the covenant of information technology has been fulfilled. We live in an age of the replacement, clones, digital twins. As Aristotle continued, technology can complete what nature cannot finish. Technology can perform contemporary miracles. That choice at our hands is a burden in itself.
As humanity charges towards an artificial intelligence singularity, it is worth taking a second thought on how rigid we believe our societies remain against social and macroeconomic upheaval. History has shown time and time again that even if we do not consciously choose the change, technology will make it for us.
Functional redundancy is a very real risk, and indeed by way of multiplicity, genAI (generative artificial intelligence) is the most insidious threat to livelihoods ever– how many industries is it simultaneously threatening to revolutionise and destroy? Is the value in the process, the agent delivering a product, or the output?
Socially, a different challenge emerges. We must decide what constitutes a fair trade for culture. Yes, we can choose to employ genAI in our lives and relationships and wellbeing and conversations, but the replica could soon become the real thing. Maybe that happens when the nuance, or frills, or uncertainty that marks nature is lost. The lack of dialectic strain and wobble in the words of a generic synthesised voice, the meretricious gleam of an AI art piece, or a smug yet obsessively servile chatbot (though you can find sycophants anywhere!).
As individuals, we must focus on protecting the idiosyncrasies of human culture – be it through preserving unique dialects and accents, looking after ornate manuscripts, having honest conversations about nothing with strangers, appreciating even the most abstract of art. There is status to be earned for those who cultivate a talent, and status to be created by those who nurture another’s.
If we do have to sacrifice something, let us hope much more is gained. The most desperate monks destroyed printing presses out of fear, yet many years later they were working in new vocational services and knowledge had been democratised. Social media has transformed how we communicate forever, but it has inflicted incalculable harm on users’ mental health, real-world interpersonal relationships, and worldviews. Finding a balance, such that we never experience genAI’s truest wrath, is crucial.
Let’s embrace the freedom of technology, let it extend our abilities, but don’t let it erase ourselves.
ThoughtBox 
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