An article titled A.I. Will Change What It Is to Be Human…Are We Ready? coincides with another in-depth A.I. report featured last week in The New York Times. Clearly a pressing topic and a good distraction from the disturbing antics in the news each day. It got me thinking about the Age of Aquarius from the song by the Fifth Dimension from the 1960s play called Hair.
When the Moon is in the Seventh House…And Jupiter aligns with Mars…Then peace will guide the planets…And love will steer the stars…This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.
Sweet idea that there is this great era ahead, a couple of thousand years of harmony, egalitarianism, and understanding. It may have been dawning back in the 1960s—I felt it right up to 9/11, but in actuality, that lovely dream is not due to occur for another two hundred (give or take) years. None of us will be here! If only an aspiration to come later, disruptive changes are inescapable before that time.
Although things feel quite doomed at the moment, perhaps a big turnaround is in the works as we embrace the Artificial Intelligence Age, for better or worse.
Despite the bad press, those who work most closely with it, see the advancements of technology as an Age of Human Flourishing…and it’s here now. I learned about Claude after reading the recent Substack article on the Bari Weiss publication, The Free Press. I also listened to the follow-up interview podcast with article authors, TFP staff writer, Tyler Cowen and Avital Balwit, Chief of Staff to Anthropic CEO (developer of Claude). Today, I visited claude.ai to look around and get the general idea. The tagline reads…
Your ideas amplified. Privacy-first A.I. that helps you create in confidence.
The article and podcast are worth tracking down for this focus on a profound existential crisis growing around what it means to be human, especially as jobs are eliminated and many of us will need to restructure our lives to meet what is coming. Creative, flexible, adaptable quick learners may fare well. Those with good taste will also be in demand. Gains in scientific research and medical advances are anticipated, along with longer lifespans. While technical maintenance such as plumbing may be done by robots, other manual skills, such as carpenters, handymen, and landscapers will be some of the high earners.
They refer to the laptop people, those who are good with writing and communication, will have little value.
People will have more free time than ever before. What to do with it? The article does not focus too heavily on how we will manage financially, the stressful part of this conversation for most of us.
After an impromptu city hall marriage last year and no keepsake photo, I used an A.I. app to create a faux wedding portrait (posted in my earlier stack called Hearts and Flowers Optional). Of course, search engines and photo editing is essentially A.I., but I mostly have remained outside that realm. We’ve all felt the increasing presence online, the annoyance of the A.I. intrusions to everyday writing, especially on social media platforms when it won’t let me type the word I want.
Considering A.I. with an open mind rather than the usual kneejerk negative response was a first for me and especially compelling having just watched David Hoffman’s 1980 documentary called The Information Society. Produced and narrated by Marc Porat, the film is a remarkable chance to look back to that pre-internet time before the home computer became a standard fixture. All fascinating—the coloration of the film, the New York street scenes, the self-consciousness of people, their general politeness and formal presentation. Of course, they all spoke of the increasing speed of life that had changed so much for them. Doesn’t every generation experience this? The advancement of technology throughout the ages moves this problem along.
Looking way back from The Information Age…
Imagine 5000+ years ago as a way to break up soil for planting is in use. The humble plow moves civilization past hunting and gathering to the Agricultural Age, a time of of commercial food production, commerce and land ownership.
Dial ahead to the invention of the steam engine during the 18th Century and the following Industrial Age still thriving in the 1950s when the seniors of today were kids.
During summers home from college during the early 1970s, I sometimes took temp work with Manpower and found myself on some assembly line jobs in small manufacturing. One comes to mind at a pharmaceutical company screwing tops on bottles of hand lotion and stuffing cotton into bottles of vitamins. Are these the jobs our current regime hopes to bring back?
Aquarius is symbolized by an image of water bearer.
Human beings require clean water sources more than anything else and already it is disappearing and becoming a rare commodity.
I hope Claude has a plan for that!
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