What Will Awe Look Like in Our Techno-revolution?
Music, relationships, art, mundane administrative tasks, business strategy, and academia… these are just a few of the human proclivities and industries that are being touched and transformed by artificial intelligence.
Humans right now are under immense pressure to maintain a household (usually renting), enough money to feed themselves and/or their families, and to maintain a vehicle, since most of our country does not have appropriate public transit infrastructure. If said human is facing a disability, mental health challenge, or sudden illness, the pressure as much as quadruples.
Advocates of artificial intelligence espouse that healthcare will be much improved. While AI does have the potential to significantly reduce healthcare costs, the timeline for realizing these savings depends on various factors. With equal or faster progress, substantial cost reductions could start to be realized within the next 3-5 years, with more profound industry-wide impacts becoming evident over the next decade. There are many stakeholders in this process. Advocating for and supporting the development of ethical guidelines and standards for AI use in healthcare to ensure patient privacy and data security.
Over the next decade, advancements in AI and healthcare technologies will significantly improve the lives of the average American by enabling early disease detection, personalized treatments, and effective chronic disease management. Enhanced telemedicine and remote monitoring will make healthcare more accessible, especially for those in rural areas, while AI-driven efficiencies will help lower overall healthcare costs. This progress will lead to more affordable and effective treatments, reduced waiting times, and personalized health and wellness recommendations, ultimately promoting healthier lifestyles and better quality of life for everyone.
AI has the potential to make a real difference in reducing poverty by improving access to essential services. For instance, AI-driven education platforms can provide personalized learning experiences, helping kids in underserved areas get a quality education. In healthcare, AI can predict disease outbreaks, diagnose conditions, and even offer remote consultations, making medical care more accessible to those who need it most. Additionally, AI can boost economic opportunities by creating new jobs and supporting small businesses with tools to help them thrive.
On top of that, AI can significantly impact agriculture by optimizing farming practices, leading to better yields and food security. It also helps with financial inclusion by providing banking services and fairer credit scoring to those without traditional access. Plus, AI can improve transportation, making it easier for people to access jobs and services, and support better resource allocation for social programs. In essence, AI is a powerful tool that, when used thoughtfully, can address various aspects of poverty and help uplift communities.
“We believe markets lift people out of poverty – in fact, markets are by far the most effective way to lift vast numbers of people out of poverty, and always have been. Even in totalitarian regimes, an incremental lifting of the repressive boot off the throat of the people and their ability to produce and trade leads to rapidly rising incomes and standards of living. Lift the boot a little more, even better. Take the boot off entirely, who knows how rich everyone can get.”
While AI will undoubtedly transform many aspects of life, the intrinsic human capacity for wonder and the desire to seek out awe-inspiring experiences will persist, guiding people towards new and meaningful ways to connect with the world and each other.
As AI becomes more integrated into our lives, it will create amazing new opportunities for us to experience awe in fresh and exciting ways. For example, AI-driven personalized education and interactive art experiences will offer us unique and deeply engaging moments that we might never have imagined before. Imagine walking through a virtual art gallery where the exhibits respond to your emotions or learning a new skill through a tailored program that adapts to your pace and interests.
Nature and the environment will also remain a profound source of wonder, especially with AI helping us explore and protect it. With advanced AI tools, we’ll be able to discover hidden natural wonders, track wildlife in ways that were previously impossible, and witness the resilience of ecosystems being restored through conservation efforts. AI will help us connect with the beauty and complexity of the natural world more intimately than ever.
Groundbreaking scientific discoveries and space exploration will help us to build deeper, more meaningful relationships through better communication tools. AI will enhance our ability to marvel at the world and each other. Whether it's exploring distant galaxies or understanding the intricacies of human emotions, the future promises a wealth of awe-inspiring experiences that blend technology with our innate curiosity and creativity.
“We believe that technology ultimately drives the world to what Buckminster Fuller called “ephemeralization” – what economists call “dematerialization”. Fuller: “Technology lets you do more and more with less and less until eventually you can do everything with nothing.”
Will we find greater solace in each other when we have time to be less busy? Will we be able to slow down and put down the “being present” manifestos? Perhaps we won’t need to learn as much about mindfulness. Perhaps the capitalist machine will transform enough for humanity to take a breath. AI claims to be on the way to transforming life for the everyday person by automating routine tasks, leading to job changes but also new opportunities in tech fields. The premise is that normal people enjoy more flexible work arrangements and increased remote work options. Everyday conveniences improve as AI enhances personalized services, healthcare, and home automation. Education becomes more accessible with AI-driven personalized learning, while leisure time expands as AI takes over mundane chores, allowing people to focus on creative and fulfilling activities. Overall, life becomes more efficient, connected, and enriched with new possibilities for personal and professional growth.
One of the biggest sources for a sense of awe is Mother Nature. Reversing climate change involves reducing greenhouse gas emissions, actively removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and restoring natural ecosystems. AI can significantly aid these efforts. For instance, AI optimizes carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, making them more efficient and cost-effective. According to the International Energy Agency, widespread adoption of CCS could reduce global CO2 emissions by 19%. AI also helps identify optimal geological sites for storing captured carbon, ensuring long-term stability and safety.
Reforestation and afforestation are crucial in sequestering carbon, and AI-powered drones and satellite imagery can identify ideal locations for planting trees and monitor their health and growth. This precision can increase the success rate of reforestation efforts, which the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization states could sequester up to 1.1-2.6 gigatonnes of CO2 annually if scaled globally. Additionally, AI enhances soil management by improving techniques that increase soil carbon sequestration. For example, adopting AI-driven practices in agriculture, such as precision farming, can improve soil health and increase its capacity to store carbon by an estimated 0.4-1.2 gigatonnes per year.
In the energy sector, AI optimizes the efficiency of renewable energy sources like wind and solar, helping to integrate them into the grid more effectively. The International Renewable Energy Agency suggests that AI could increase renewable energy production by up to 10%. Moreover, AI can manage smart grids, reducing energy waste and balancing supply and demand, which could lower global energy consumption by up to 10%, as reported by the World Economic Forum. By combining AI with robust climate policies and actions, we can significantly advance efforts to not only slow down but potentially reverse the impacts of climate change.
It’s difficult not to be emotional about the powerful effects that work like this could have on our planet, people, and wildlife. A world where we can not only experience nature, but be with each other? So many of us are caught in a race that feels nihilistic. America is no longer the land of opportunity, if it ever was. It is time to start banding together globally.
We can grasp a little bit of what is coming our way. We truly cannot know the full impact, but we can look forward to the future with hope. The imperative is to make the most of it; to champion our fellow humans, to embrace diversity and ensure machine learning systems are fed good data and to thoroughly eradicate and mitigate bias, to celebrate small technology companies, to embrace our all of our world community as contributors to a bright future.
“Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.”
