How humans survive in the era of Artificial Intelligence

Letters live.

AI has become a common topic in gathering activities, not just in professional conversation but also in casual chatting with friends and families.

Are humans going to be controlled by AI? Can a machine replace my current job?

People started being paranoid and anxious about how AI is going to influence our lives. But as the Netflix documentary stated, our lives have already been changed by AI technology. It was too late to stop it, and we are getting lots of advantages from it as well. Moreover, thousands of jobs would be replaced by automation and artificial intelligence.

Then, how can we survive from it? And what kind of attitude should we put upon ourselves to be different from a machine?

AI can beat the best Go player in the world. They are already more intelligent than us. The next thing we should consider is how to stay real and unreplaceable.

Here I want to quote a line from Confucius ---" 君子不器 ". The common translation is "The accomplished scholar is not a utensil".

A painting of the"JUE" vessel in Shang Dynasty 丨Kun Lu

People tend to fall into the cognitive structure that they are only good at certain things. As a result, we lock ourselves into the vessel were stopping us from stretching and exploring other possibilities of life.

In the Shang dynasty, the vessels of wine varied for different circumstances and purposes. Each one had its particular use. But Confucius wanted humans to do more than that, being flexible and not limiting themselves for doing things.

I read something about a person being an expert in something that would take 11 years to achieve. So think about that, if I luckily could live for 70 years. I would be an expert in at least five different areas. The most exciting thing is not about the five diverse expertise I mastered. It is about the combination of skills that can shape who you are and makes you unique.

The whole idea of not become a utensil is about being irreplaceable and unique. And our emotional feelings and reflections are something I believe that makes us the most extraordinary creature in the world.

If there is only one thing I want you to take away from this article, it would be showing your feelings more often. For example, to say "I love you" to your families more often, to show your sympathy when people around you are sad, and to be real.

So, how to survive in the era of AI?

To live.

Kun

Book to read: "The Analects" ----- Confucius