I don’t work in AI, so I haven’t felt qualified to weigh in on Evan Hubinger’s post on X about the risks of AI. As a refresher, he’s a top safety researcher at Anthropic, and he said AI is advancing so quickly he believes there is a greater than 10% chance it “could kill all humans” within the next decade.
He said the risk from the models that currently exist is “low,” but he’s “worried” the technology might develop and improve itself soon to the point where it poses an existential risk to humanity. He didn’t say how, but since his post, tons of people have presented their own theories and also come out saying AI is dangerous.
Again, I don’t work in AI, but I have opinions too, and they’re based on research, observation, and lived experience. Rather than believing we’re all doomed, that the machines are going to kill us all, I see AI as just another form of technology in a long line of technology that humans can use for good or evil. We like to pretend that the threats to our existence are always outside of us – that some machine is going to become autonomous and ruin us all – but the reality is humans are the threat and the solution.
I’m not so worried about these. Photo by Gabriele Malaspina on Unsplash
Yes, yes, I know in some instances AI is acting autonomously, and yes, I know that can be dangerous. But you know what’s more dangerous? The humans using AI for nefarious purposes. And guess what? Humans have been using various forms of technology for nefarious purposes for a long, long time, and we’re still here! Why? Because there are more good humans than bad ones.
Repeatedly, we’ve seen humans implementing laws, creating regulations, building new systems, constructing guardrails, and doing all the things that need to be done to enhance safety. Not without challenges, not without protest, but doing something nonetheless. This is always how progress is made. We have tamper-evident seals on pill bottles because in 1982, seven people died after taking extra-strength Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide. We have better working conditions because people banded together, protested, and created labor unions and labor laws.
Humanity is not doomed, but I understand why it’s easy to fall under that spell. Fear is a powerful emotion, and fear is tied to survival. However, as my friend Emma says, “There will always be an invitation to the fear party, but you can decline.” I choose to decline the invitation because I see more things to be hopeful about than to be scared of.
I see people showing up for each other in small and large ways. Someone dropping off a COVID test because their friend can’t leave the house. A neighbor offering to watch someone’s children while the parents are unavailable. Doctors and nurses purposely putting themselves in harm’s way because they’re saving lives. Three people wading into the flooded basement beneath the damaged Chernobyl reactor to drain a pool of cooling water and prevent a catastrophic second steam explosion. And doing so with the knowledge that the contaminated water would likely kill them, but choosing to do it anyway because they wanted to save lives.
My spiritual teacher says, “There are some people who are pessimistic. They say that the society around us is very bleak … Pessimists say this because they have never made any detailed study of human history, nor do they care to. Had they done so, they would certainly be optimistic.”
Am I optimistic? I’m not sure. But what I am sure of is that humanity is not doomed.
I dream of a world where we remember humanity has always faced challenges and overcome them. A world where we recognize the threat to humanity is not machines, but other humans. A world where we remember that while there are some not-great humans in existence, they are fewer in number than the kind and caring ones. A world where we realize humanity is not doomed.
Another world is not only possible, it’s probable.
A friend sent me a podcast he created solely using AI and it freaked me out. By feeding a discourse into a large language model, it spit out a realistic conversation between two “people.” I didn’t love the podcast because the speakers said “like” too much, but still. AI created something much easier and swifter than me, a human. From there I spiraled into “AI will replace me” territory because I’m not a plumber – I’m a writer.
I tried to soothe myself by remembering AI can only regurgitate what’s already been generated and I’m creating something new. For instance, the novel I’m writing centers on a woman with an eating disorder who finds recovery from it. As astounding as it may seem, that story doesn’t exist for adults! So there’s still a role for me. But/and the whole thing has me pondering what are my gifts? And beyond that, what does it mean to be human?
The thing I do as a human that AI cannot is commune with subtle energies. I receive messages from the Divine Beloved and communicate them to humanity. To that end, I’m sharing a letter from my higher power to me because I think you will also find it beneficial.
This picture reminded me of the expression, “Worth your weight in gold.” Photo by Kent Pilcher on Unsplash
Dear one,
You are irreplaceable. Who you are and what you contribute to the world is so much more than your paid work. It’s your interactions with others, it’s your life experience, it’s your wisdom, your kindness, and your love. You are a part of the web of life and bigger than what you generate or what AI can generate on your behalf.
You worry about AI replacing you but you don’t realize that’s impossible. A machine cannot fulfill all the roles and functions that you do. You are love itself and that’s more precious than anything currently in existence. You touch minds and hearts wherever you go and that’s what matters, not whether you can create a podcast in three minutes.
Society is entering a new phase of development where everyone is learning what it means to be human so you will become even more valuable. You do not treat people like machines. You don’t look at them for what they can produce or how they can help you. You look at people as expressions of divinity. You remind them they’re special and sacred and that cannot be quantified, nor can it be replaced.
I know you’re scared you’ll be out of a job soon but you will never be out of a job even if your role changes because your job is to know Me, to love Me, to move toward Me, the ever-loving entity that pervades this universe. When you take shelter under me, you are always shielded from every storm. So do not worry. You are held, you are loved, you are guided every moment of every day. Rest in that, trust in that, and know all is well.
I dream of a world where we recognize we are so much more than what we produce. A world where we understand we are irreplaceable as unique expressions of an infinite loving consciousness. A world where we understand we are interwoven in the web of life and that’s far more complicated than it may seem. A world where we remember we’re irreplaceable.
Another world is not only possible, it’s probable.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been on my mind because as you’re likely aware, the Lensa AI app that creates “magic avatars,” or in other words digital art, went viral and jumped to number one in the Apple App store recently. Not only that, ChatGPT gained more than a million users in five days around the same time. The AI program can create A+ academic papers and Netflix-worthy scripts.
It’s both exciting and terrifying. Terrifying because as a writer and an artist I’m starting to wonder, “Will I be obsolete soon?” And sure, AI could save me a lot of time and replace the boring writing I don’t want to do anyway such as “compare and contrast the best-selling fertilizers currently on the market,” but still. When I think about AI, my stomach clenches and my whole body gets tense. If AI can do what I do, only better in some instances, what does that mean for me?
The first, obvious answer is I’m so much more than what I do. I’m not only a writer. I’m a daughter, a sister, a friend, etc. The relationships I have with people matter, a machine cannot yet replace my presence, but also the essence of who I am matters. Regardless of whether I never write another word again, I have existential value. My spiritual teacher says over and over again, “Nobody is unimportant, nobody is insignificant. Each and every existence is valuable.” So there’s that.
Humans and robots. More to come. Photo by Andy Kelly on Unsplash
But there’s also a more intangible something I bring. Cosmic consciousness, Brahma, Source, whatever name you have for it, is coming to know itself through me. I am in partnership with the divine to create something new. AI by its very nature is derivative. You literally have to feed AI loads and loads of information for it to “learn.” AI pulls from what’s already in existence and that is one of the criticisms of Lensa AI – it sampled from human artists without acknowledging or paying them for their work.
As a human being, I can create something new. I can be a conduit for the divine. Indeed, my spiritual teacher says artists are pioneers. They are at the vanguard of society, leading them toward “true fulfillment and welfare by providing the inspiration for service.” Art is not just about showcasing what’s inside my own head, but a way to spur people forward, to inspire, to encourage, and to hopefully put people in touch with something greater than themselves.
Another quote for you: Artists “have to cleanse all that is turbid, all that is inauspicious in individual life in the holy waters of their universal mentality, and then convey it sweetly and gracefully into the heart of humanity. Herein lies the fulfillment of their service, the consummation of their practice.”
How can AI possibly convey a universal mentality sweetly and gracefully into the heart of humanity? How can AI talk about the touch of the eternal and hint at something that lies beyond the mind when it’s not something to comprehend but rather feel and experience? It can’t. Not unless it copies a human being and therein, once again, my value is evident.
I dream of a world where we understand even if we’re all out of work, we still matter. A world where we recognize while AI is better than humans at some things, it’s not better at everything. A world where we hold true to the understanding there is still value in being human, no matter how much AI advances.
Another world is not only possible, it’s probable.