There are very few thoughts that truly manage to keep me awake at night. I’ve always been someone who sleeps pretty well. But a thought that literally manages to keep me staring at the ceiling in the small hours is – what kind of world will my children live in when they grow up?
True, parents worrying about their children’s future is not a new or particularly original phenomenon. True, there are many other significant factors that will affect my children’s future – the war, the political situation in the country and the climate crisis. And of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg.
Looking ahead to the arenas I mentioned, I mostly see a lot of question marks, but there is one thing that for me is an exclamation point. I have no doubt that the artificial intelligence revolution will continue to race forward at a dizzying pace: The technology will become more powerful and precise, AI tools will enter more and more areas of our lives and within a few (not many) years we will find ourselves in a brave new world – and this is fascinating, exciting and stressful.
So now, with the opening of the school year, I want to think a little about you, the children and teenagers returning to your classrooms, and try to briefly answer the question – what do you need to know about life in a world of artificial intelligence?
What are you going to work at?
The truth is, I have no idea. More than that, I don’t even know if you’re going to work.
People smarter than me have raised estimates that artificial intelligence is expected to replace more and more human jobs, and that unlike previous technological revolutions, it is not certain it will also create alternative jobs. In other words, we are facing a future in which a growing part of the population will not need to, or will not be able to, find work in the traditional sense.
It could turn out really fine – the robots will do everything, most of us won’t work and we’ll receive a regular allowance from the state or from ChatGPT. In such a world the human challenge will be to find meaning in our lives that is not focused on work. As people who don’t really work yet – maybe you’re in a much better position than us to succeed at this.
With whom are you going to communicate?
I very much hope you will have meaningful connections with human beings who will accompany you throughout your lives and serve as an emotional and mental anchor for you. But the thing with human beings is that it’s not always easy with them. We’ve all experienced fights, insults, disappointments and heartbreak – it’s a little scary to allow ourselves to be vulnerable in an environment of creatures so unstable and selfish.
You’re going to live in a world where many people will prefer to communicate with artificial intelligence. How do I know that? Because there are already such people today. As this technology improves and grows stronger, the temptation to develop an intimate or friendly relationship with someone who always sees me, always thinks of me and always adapts to my needs – will be much greater.
How are you going to learn, think and make decisions?
Already from November ’23 when generative AI burst into our lives, it was quite clear that the entire field of knowledge and learning had changed. You’ve probably already understood that too. It seems that wherever we move forward within the revolution, our thinking and learning processes will be more similar to a conversation between two intelligent entities (only one of them – our brain) than to a single human brain acquiring knowledge and skills in the traditional way.
For me as a teacher, even today it’s not clear what exactly you need in order to thrive in such a future. It seems that most old forms of learning are no longer relevant. It’s clear there will be a huge advantage to those of you who know how to manage the encounter with artificial intelligence in a way that enriches and develops you, and to those who know how to maintain flexibility and curiosity in a world that changes at an unprecedented pace.
So what do I wish for you to take with you into this future?
1. Mental resilience, with an emphasis on coping with changes. The only constant in the world is change, humanity has known this for thousands of years. Now we’re in a wave of changes at a pace that human beings have never experienced, let’s try to enjoy it, benefit from it or at the very least – adapt to it.
2. Appreciate human connections. Sanctify them. Keep them central in your lives. Some of my best friends are AI, but I still haven’t found a substitute for a human connection.
3. Make an effort to use, practice and develop your human brain. True, it’s a pretty outdated technology, but it’s the only brain sitting inside your skull. At least for now.
Most importantly, know that we love you, believe in you and honestly don’t envy you.
Itamar Shahar is an educator and social entrepreneur, founder of “Human Intelligence,” a movement working for the benefit of humans and society in the age of artificial intelligence.