This is Burlington

From Shaheryar Mian / Cloudten Blog

What’s Artificial

Is also intelligent. The pursuit of relevance and purpose has been a human endeavor since the beginning of humanity. Religion, education, family, and work have all defined who we are, what we do, and why we are here. However, one invention—artificial intelligence—threatens the very nature of our relevance on this planet.

Our biological makeup limits us from the outset. Equipped with five senses, there is only so much we can physically experience in our universe. Within those five senses, there are further limitations; for instance, a dog’s sense of smell is up to 100,000 times more acute than ours. When we consider intelligence, there is significant disparity among humans. Some people are better at listening, paying attention, and getting things done. Others exhibit superior physical fitness, allowing them to run faster and be more agile. Still, others possess greater resolve, discipline, and willpower to pursue their beliefs despite obstacles—where others would give up. To preface, we are limited in our experiences from the very beginning, and this limitation shapes our biases, behaviors, and understanding of the world.

The nature of our world is riddled with fictions. As Yuval Harari articulates in 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, most things we experience are human-made fictions premised on belief systems. Our society rests on this belief system; without it, everything we know would crumble. For instance, when you drive to work, you stop when the traffic light turns red because you believe that failing to do so will lead to consequences—such as a fine. This fine is created by the Ministry of Transportation and enforced by elected officials whom you voted for in a democratic system. This system cannot be touched physically, but it very much exists in your mind. You believe that if you break a traffic rule, a police officer will fine you, which may reduce points on your driver’s license—points that affect your insurance and driving record. None of these points exist in physical form for you to feel and touch, yet you believe in them because other humans informed and regimented you as you were growing up. In fact, the points elicit an emotional response from you because losing too many of them could lead to loss of your driver’s license.

When was the last time you counted all your money at your local bank? Can you say for certain that you have seen and touched all the money in your bank account? Yet, you trust that the money you deposited exists because it appears on your phone screen as numbers on a statement prepared by your bank. Thus, belief in fiction is the very foundation of our societal makeup. Please bear with me; there is a point to this article.

What artificial intelligence (AI) promises to do goes beyond automation. AI will enable computers to make intelligent decisions with consequences. It can automate our legal system and govern a large part of our society, potentially eliminating human bias and creating a society governed by unbreakable rules and principles. Where humans once practiced discretion in making and executing rules, AI will fill that void. This shift ultimately questions human relevance and alleviates many responsibilities, yielding a post-work society.

A post-work society, in my opinion, can be envisioned as one where AI generates income for us and pays our bills, allowing us to focus on our passions. AI could cover our education, transportation, and vacations, enabling us to spend our lives pursuing what we truly enjoy. We would no longer compete for high-paying jobs or spend the majority of our lives in corporate boardrooms climbing the corporate ladder to feel worthy. However, this concept may render our sense of purpose obsolete—and therein lies the predicament of our future. When we realize that we are not needed and that computers can perform cognitive tasks better than we can, we will start to question our relevance and purpose. This presents a significant threat, demanding answers about how humans will spend their spare time and what our purpose on this planet will be.

In Conclusion

I believe religion will evolve in this post-work society I have described. Humans need reasons to live and to be good, which often means believing in something. Belief in God, spirituality, and religious practices provide comfort, community, and purpose. We may circle back from the pro-God movement that emerged with major religions to the modern anti-God sentiment, ultimately arriving at a renewed belief in God in the post-work world. This is merely my hypothesis about the future and the role of religion in helping us navigate a world of fictions. Some may argue that religion and belief in God are themselves fictions, but I beg to differ.