The robots are coming


I don’t know where AI might lead us. No one does.

Here is one thing I feel sure of: AI alone is not going to make our lives simpler or more satisfying.

Adding AI to a system reduces our individual influence on it. When you use an ordinary computer program, it responds exactly how it’s programmed to. With AI, the response is far less direct and less predictable. The very thing that makes AI powerful—its ability to interpret the meaning of our instructions—is also a lessening of our control.

As computer systems become more person-like, we will be confronted with the fact that many of our frustrations in life have to do with other people. People are never quite doing what we want, are they? If politics is a gauge, we’re more frustrated with people than ever. Are we really to expect that making machines more human-like will bring us a greater sense of peace?

I’m hopeful for the future of AI because I’m hopeful about people. Flowit will eventually include AI features, but its core focus will be helping us with things that AI alone can’t do. That means supporting a habit of making clear intentions, and building upon those with the people closest to us.

While people can be frustrating, they’re also the source of our greatest joys. Flesh-and-blood humans must remain central to our lives even as virtual assistants and other digital personages proliferate. I hope we’ll use AI to create space and focus in our human relationships. I hope we’ll use it to better apply our intentions, and our attention, to our loved ones. We need each other. Now as much as ever.