What is AI good for anyway?

6 hours ago

Its a big deal and everyone is talking about it - Artificial Intelligence. Let's start at the top and admit, there is a non-zero chance that these experiments end badly, and its not that clear how we would know if that is happening.

But the jokes are good, at least we should start there.

Credit: XKCD

It's quite funny to see, different people interpret what is happening in our world, differently. This is very normal, but its not every day we are all talking about something that is "such a big deal" or that has such a wide range of opinions on "what is happening" and how it all turns out. Everything from "nothing burger" to "human extinction" is on the table.

And its not exactly clear that this spectrum correlates with people who have used AI and people who have not. Many people who seem to have used AI are pushing pretty amazing ideas about "what is now possible". In and around HIVE I have seen this a lot - how so much is possible for a few bucks and a claude code agent, yet I haven't seen very many new projects or deliverables.

Of course, many if not most projects and teams are integrating AI agents into their work flow. It's happening, as the classic gif tells us.

What's Happening?

It seems to me, from my unique perspective, that what is happening is a vast reaction stirred up by exactly our disagreement about where all this "artificial intelligence" is heading. Will we all be replaced? Of course not, right? Except, maybe so, but it would be okay because the robots will leave us in complete utopian abundance....

But at least we'll cure cancer, right?

https://x.com/TaraBull/status/2023030786484781378

So definitely some things will change, are changing...

But as someone who uses AI and has worked with other team members about and around integrating AI into (actual work) work flow... we are still going to need humans - smart ones. Someone needs to operate the machines, give them tasks, purpose and meaning. That will not change, no matter what happens.

But - it might be the case that some amount of humanity could be convinced of something else...

Who wants a "Job"?

I think probably "job" is a word so loaded at this point to be almost meaningless, but its important for us humans to engage in meaningful work - as its important to be able to afford a "home", complete with enough food, water, electricity (plus handy machines) and bandwidth. These things cost money, and insofar as we can achieve this cashflow through the "meaningful work" we engage in, I think that is one part of civilization we could spare some effort to hang on to.

But in some way, we are each being asked to become, more and more, managers of agents, elements of tech that when thrown together, can produce things - sloppy things perhaps, but things nonetheless. Perhaps even things of value, if we can decide what those are.

And who is doing the deciding?

After all we've been through, I still don't think the answer is going to be AI...