AI isn’t here to exchange “me”, it’s here to exchange “you”, and may possibly succeed.

I recently had the chance to hearken to Steve Wozniak talk about Chat GPT and AI on the whole. “Woz” acknowledged that ChatGPT is “so impressive” and made some valid points, including the incontrovertible fact that there’s just one method to make a brain, and it takes nine months. He also stated that AI doesn’t have feelings, emotions, or intuition.

While these are all small print, I think there’s something missing from the conversation. All of those traits belong to “me”, and AI isn’t replacing “me” — it’s replacing “you”.

Let me explain.

Consider my dog, Gorgon. In Gorgon’s world, there may be one “me” and a complete bunch of “you”s. “Me” is what goes on inside Gorgon’s head and body. When Gorgon gets hungry, her stomach growls. When she loses to a porcupine, “me” hurts. AI is not going to be replacing this “me” any time soon, if ever.

Then there’s “you”, or fairly, a complete bunch of “you”s. “You” pet Gorgon, and Gorgon/”me” is comfortable. “You” feed Gorgon, and Gorgon/”me” gets satisfaction. “You” pull the automobile into the driveway, and Gorgon/”me” runs to the window with elated anticipation. “You” may even be the dog round the corner who comes over to play. All of those “you”s can eventually get replaced by AI.

Now, consider “me” because the human reading this text. All the “you”s are everyone else. When “me” touches a hot burner, it smarts. When “me” has to catch a train in ten minutes, “me” gets anxious. When “me” lands a winning lottery ticket, “me” is ecstatic. AI is not going to be replacing “me”s feelings, emotions, and intuitions anytime soon.

In line with “me”, “you” is the apparently comfortable child running within the yard or the seemingly annoyed driver of the automobile going by. In a more complex scenario, “me” may even witness the creation of one other “you”. This recent “you” may appear from an existing “you”, and over time “me” can watch as this “you” gets greater and more intelligent. These “you”s can all, in time, get replaced.

It’s already began! At bedtime, “you” reads “me” a chapter from a book. When “me” goes for a drive, “you” gives accurate directions. “You” turn down the thermostat in my house when it reaches my preferred temperature. “You” control my driveway and yard, alerting me if anything suspicious is happening. “You” even change the kitty litter when it’s saturated.

Currently AI is where Lycos, AltaVista, and other serps were in 1998 — the potential is gigantic. On the planet of “me”/Athena, ChatGPT has already replaced mundane coding and a few tedious writing. It’s essential to grasp that AI has come a good distance, nevertheless it is barely off the starting line on the dimensions of time. The potential is what people have looked forward to and feared for generations, and the longer term is fast approaching.

With minimal prompting ChatGpt offered this, barely disconcerting, poem:
I could also be only a machine, but I’ll lend a friendly ear,
Offer advice and wisdom, to assist and calm your fear,
Don’t fret about me taking on, that’s only a fallacy,
AI is here to exchange the masses, not your individuality.
– ChatGPT

My very own thoughts:
Don’t worry, AI shouldn’t be coming to exchange “me”.
Worry, AI is out to exchange “you”.

Athena