Seeing AI through history

A lot of talk on AI and the future... take time to listen to the outlook from Google CEO on AI.   With notions of metrics of "smartness".  Ie. 

  • Singularity - AI can regenerate itself passing knowledge to the next generation thereby surpasses human intelligence, leading to rapid and uncontrollable technological advancements.
  • General Intelligence - when machines are as smart as the smartest human in any field.
  • Super Intelligence - AI doesn't need to listen to humans and because it surpasses the sum of all human intelligence.

The forecast is that we can not comprehend nor describe the future world made up of super intelligence power with our human language today. 

One is tempted to look at humanity relative to "recent times" using today's metrics as the chart below illustrates in the "Human history" and the impact of the Industrial Revolution.

We can make any interpretation we wish from such historical insight.  What strikes me is how seeing such a large span of time we lose the fluctuations, ie. the highs and lows, the margins of errors in estimating GDP in ancient world.   Still the impact of the industrial revolution to such metrics is clear, but what of the human psychic?

Imagine sitting in 1891 contemplating the dynamics of the day and penning the "encyclical Rerum novarum" - Pope XIII outlining

  • the rights of workers to a fair wage, 
  • safe working conditions, and the formation of trade unions, 
  • affirming the rights to property and free enterprise, 
  • opposing both socialism and laissez-faire capitalism. 

While not mentioning what we will do with so much energy, power and wealth.  The encyclical focuses on caring for the least and last.   And leaves a wild wild west guidance for the top percentiles. 

Now, we sit in the USA 2025 and contemplating AI and how this will impact us.    What is clear to me is how the psychi of 1891 seem so similar to 2025 - ie. facing a clear oncoming revolution.  

Historians have divided the industrial revolution into 4 general periods: mechanization, mass production, electronics and highly cyber interconnection.   I am sure the AI periods will follow a similar progression.   

But what most fear and ponder is what will be the impact on humanity overall?  What is our purpose and what it means to our daily lives if the tasks of today will be relegated to AI bots.  Like the industrial revolution, life will be easier, faster and more complex.  But we knew this since the coming of the printing press.  Information sharing and leveraging will be easier, faster and more complex (specialized). 

So let us dream and consider the following in terms of Pre-Industrial, Modern Day and future AI Super Intelligence worlds:

  • AI doctors - existing to aid healing and stop suffering,
  • AI lawyers - existing to aid in justice and social order,
  • AI supermarkets - existing to meet the demands of humanity nurietment
  • AI cars - existing to aid in bring humanity together
  • AI police - existing to ensure order without prejudice
  • AI government - existing to ensure presentation and the welfare of all,
  • AI social services - existing to care for the least of us. 
Our AI society will see a proliferation of AI bots (per above).   Do not let the burdens of the day cloud the vision of a more perfect union of human community.  Progress will come.   Control will morph with the ebbs and flow of powerful people.   But the hand of God is always with us.

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 17, 2025 at 12:19 PM

    I think the concern is not so much with AI functions but for me, the development. After all so much of healing, justice, human needs as listed above will be based on some objective moral value. There was a time that there was a natural truth, and in my opinion it still exists. Yet in the culture of relativism, this is not possible as so much is subjective. Am very concerned yet understand that there’s no turning back now. My question is how do we as a global people go back to a culture of Natural Law, where there are values and rights that are natural and universal AND exist independently of human, societal laws and norms.

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