Real Authenticity Is Going to Be More Important Than Ever
In the future world, you will have to be your true self in order to be successful.
People are very afraid of artificial intelligence taking their jobs.
With good reason - the technology is amazing and the speed at which it is advancing is incredible.
Some will argue that this is the same as every other technology. As always, the new technology will take some jobs, and create new ones.
Others though will argue that this time the technology is different. Its capabilities are like nothing we’ve ever seen before and it may replace every job at such a low cost that no one will have work.
Scary thought, right?
What I want to argue is that both sides are partially right, and that means the key to being successful in the future will be to be authentic.
Being your true, unique, creative self.
Is artificial intelligence different?
This has happened before. A new technology arises and people are worried it’ll take their job.
When agricultural equipment (like tractors) started being developed, it meant less labour was needed in the farming industry. This technology replaced jobs, but it also allowed each person to manage more farmland which made food more abundant.
That also opened up work for those manufacturing the equipment to begin with.
Another example is automation in manufacturing.
People are always afraid of robots taking their jobs, but the rise in automation has created new jobs in design and programming - which are much safer, and more lucrative jobs.
Artificial intelligence however might be different because of how many industries it hits at once.
Also, this is the first meaningful time that technology threatens the job of “knowledge” workers.
With artificial intelligence a programmer can do the job of 10 programmers, a designer can work 5 times as fast, and a doctor can get a diagnosis immediately.
So, maybe it is different this time. But is that a bad thing?
What if all jobs were replaced?
An interesting thought is that every job could be replaced at such a low cost that humans would no longer have work.
But, would that be a bad thing?
If everything you could possibly do for work was no longer possible because a robot or low-cost intelligence was doing it, that would mean we are living in a world with infinite abundance.
Sounds pretty awesome, to be honest, but let’s come back to this later.
Will artificial intelligence create new jobs?
With the arrival of any new technology, comes the arrival of new jobs. This technology, however, is far from thinking for itself.
What I’m getting at is that AI is not what most people think it is. If it did think for itself, it would be AGI, not AI.
David Deutsch argues that until this intelligence can teach itself something you didn’t intend it to learn, it is not AGI, or thinking for itself.
For example, you could program it to play chess, and instead of playing chess, it’ll tell you it wants to play checkers. Despite the fact that you never told it anything about checkers.
Or, it could tell you no, and display real disobedience.
So will it create new jobs?
Until it can think for itself, I would argue yes.
Someone needs to program the AI, others need to prompt it.
But… maybe it’ll take more jobs than it will create.
While that is possible, typically new innovations produce more wealth in a society (think Silicon Valley). As wealth grows, people want to purchase new things, and a new demand for technology grows.
As the demand for new technology grows, people continue to innovate. This creates new industries and new jobs.
For argument's sake though, let’s say this time that doesn’t happen. That means that being authentic will be more important than ever.
Why you should be authentic
In this new world where nearly every job is gone because artificial intelligence can do a better job for less, the cost of anything will be so low, that we will have nearly total freedom.
For those who want to work, they will have to be authentic and creative.
Artificial intelligence, since it is so intelligent, will continuously come to the same conclusions, creating the same work. This work will be good, but it will not be unique - it will lack something that humans appreciate and are willing to pay for… authenticity.
Right now, you can ask AI to write for you, do random tasks, and even create pictures out of words. However, it is very rare to have a great outcome for any of the things you ask it to do.
It’ll be decent, it might pass most use cases, but it will not be excellent. Even if the AI produces an incredible result, it still lacks a human touch. It will lack authenticity.
What I am getting at is that as AI gets better, you need to become more yourself.
By being yourself, and being authentic, you are setting yourself apart from the norm, and AI is trained on the norm. By diving into what you love and being unique, you will be set apart.
Funny enough, that’s already what is necessary to separate yourself from other humans. Only in the future, you will have to do it to separate yourself from AI as well.
In a world where everything is low-cost because of AI, there will be many, many wealthy people.
Where there is wealth, there is art.
Where there is art, there is a desire for authenticity, humanity, and you.
Closing remarks
The thought of being replaced and having no place in this world is scary. We all want to feel needed, valued and appreciated.
While this transition might be a little terrifying, it actually wields the potential to make our lives far better than ever.
It can make life safer, more efficient, and longer. Best of all, it allows us to be ourselves.
In fact, it REQUIRES us to be ourselves. And that, that is a beautiful thing.
Thanks for reading
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