Perhaps the real question is not whether AI is a threat to humankind, but how humankind chooses to use AI. Technology itself is neither good nor bad—it reflects the intentions, wisdom, and values of those who create and use it. Fire can warm a home or destroy it; the internet can educate or deceive. AI is no different.
As I reflect on this, I am reminded that progress always requires responsibility. Fear alone should not guide our response to new technology, nor should blind optimism. Instead, we should approach AI with curiosity, caution, and a commitment to using it for the greater good.
You're right at the individual level. The person who learns the tool will out-compete the one who refuses, every time. No argument there.
The bit this misses is what happens above the individual. If AI makes one person do the work of five, the firm doesn't keep five people producing five times the output. It keeps one and lets four go. "Someone using AI better than you" wins their seat, but the seat next to them disappears. That's not a skills problem, it's a demand problem, and you can't upskill your way out of a shrinking number of jobs.
The productivity gains don't tend to land in wages either. They land with whoever owns the system. You can master the exact tool that makes your role redundant and still be shown the door when headcount gets cut.
So yes, learn it. Just don't mistake individual advice for a market-level answer. Fewer chairs is fewer chairs, no matter how good you've got at sitting.
Yes, that’s fair and I think that’s what I’m sort of thinking about (around the edges) in my thoughts on impact on juniors. What do their roles look like now if the ‘menial’ tasks can be automated, faster and cheaper?
Both. And then that's where it gets scary, because a business can't necessarily increase the number of clients or demand for its product at the rate at which it becomes more efficient and cheaper to run. That's where jobs dissolve. You don't need a team of ten if two people can do ten people's job.
Fair point…this is why I think we need that (at scale) conversation beyond whether an author should have used AI or not, for me - it’s so much bigger than that.
Great read, and I share your mixed feelings. What scares me most isn't necessarily AI itself - rather, it's the companies currently dominating the AI industry, and their clear lack of care for the greater good. They could've created AI models that improve productivity and allow us to have four-day work weeks... But instead, here they are, doing deals with the Pentagon and supercharging people's ability to make deepfakes. AI art also gives me the ick, personally; it feels like it misses the point of what art is supposed to be (a method of expressing our deepest emotions, experiences, and shared humanity with other people; in other words, something fundamentally human).
But on a personal level at least, we can strive to use AI responsibly and judiciously. For me, that looks like using it as a neurodivergent support tool/accommodation; it genuinely takes a weight off by automating certain tasks that I struggle with due to executive dysfunction! (Looking at you, meal planning...) I also suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome, and sometimes, outsourcing part of a work task to an LLM is the only way to retain enough brain juice to get me through the day.
So in summary: it's complicated! And I'm glad to see people talking about the mixed emotions around the whole thing.
I hear you Elle - I think this is it, right? Undoubtedly it can do some great things for all sort of people, including you and me. It’s all about asking ourselves what we want protected from it. But that, I feel, needs to be a global conversation otherwise it will just permeate through the cracks. We need to be consistent as humankind. I’m not sure we’ve ever had that kind of conversation before?
Absolutely - and I don't think we have, no. Probably the closest thing is the global discussions around climate change but even those weren't agreed to by all? It would likely have to start in a similar way; governments coming together to discuss and form a plan. Whether we can trust them to or not...
This is IT! Climate change was an opportunity for us to have that global conversation but those that are perhaps the worst offenders don’t feel like they should delay or curtail their progress because other countries got their earlier and now we all, collectively, have to adjust. I think that’s my point, really. How can we have this conversation, neutrally?
It's such a difficult one isn't it. Everyone would come to the conversation with their own agenda. What a complex existence we've built for ourselves as a species!!!
Great piece. I have also been feeling a greater awareness of AI over the last month or so, I'm not sure what has caused it, or if it has just been a hot topic on my social platforms that I've been unconsciously registering. I am very much like you - I see the potential benefits of AI, but in our reality are those potential benefits likely to actually happen.
And yes - if this AI revolution did create great space for free time, what does that look like? To me part of being human is to create, explore, fail, try again, but in a world where everything is, or appears, to be easily accessible what do we do with that free time. Write stories? Why bother if AI can do it in less than a minute? Create music? Again why struggle when AI can do it at the click of a button? (I think it is also worth mentioning that I believe that this attitude comes down to individuals and their outlooks - and there will always be those that seek to take the harder road for the sense of achievement. But for those who choose this path, is the achievement lessened due to the impact of AI. Are people looking on these organic works and thinking - well who cares when AI can do it?)
I feel as though we are in the early stages of an industrial revolution. The man with the horse and plough looking across the landscape to see the first streams of smoke in the growing cities, aware change is coming. Was the industrial revolution 'a bad thing'? I wouldn't say so - seeking development and improvement are what make use human. But did it shape everything that came after, yes. Did it change the lifestyles of millions for the better, yes. Did it also change the lifestyle of millions for the worse, also yes. This explosion of AI technology is so fast and hard hitting that as you have said its as though we don't know what to do. (Also lets not get into the debate about the extreme small circle that are controlling AI and the benefits it has to them).
Overall I think AI has potential if used correctly - but how do we learn to use it correctly. We have already had so many examples of harm done by AI spouting back information to us that is incorrect and harmful. I could go on and go. It's such a grey area but on the whole I think for creatives it is a challenging time where we will see the divide widen, especially as some publishers have just announced they would be open to publishing books assisted by AI.
I saw a very interesting reel on Instagram recently by a fitness coach who said she used AI to help assist her in fitness plans, she then felt as though her coaching suffered and then when she went back to her 'organic' format she felt 'dumber'. (Her exact words). She felt as though she had lost her ability to critically think - I think this is my main concern for humans, regardless of industry or job implications.
The conversation is endless as are my thoughts (if you can't tell!)
I’m so pleased you took the time to write this - I’m not the only one conflicted! I agree with you re the parallel to the Industrial Revolution - is this the same just updated? Or is this actually different because, as you say, we can outsource our thinking, those tasks that are a bit hard because it requires us to stop and think. I think that could be the difference in that AI can do more than just the menial tasks which gets me to where you are, it’s how we use it. How we permit its use, how we govern etc. So many thoughts!
Perhaps the real question is not whether AI is a threat to humankind, but how humankind chooses to use AI. Technology itself is neither good nor bad—it reflects the intentions, wisdom, and values of those who create and use it. Fire can warm a home or destroy it; the internet can educate or deceive. AI is no different.
As I reflect on this, I am reminded that progress always requires responsibility. Fear alone should not guide our response to new technology, nor should blind optimism. Instead, we should approach AI with curiosity, caution, and a commitment to using it for the greater good.
You're right at the individual level. The person who learns the tool will out-compete the one who refuses, every time. No argument there.
The bit this misses is what happens above the individual. If AI makes one person do the work of five, the firm doesn't keep five people producing five times the output. It keeps one and lets four go. "Someone using AI better than you" wins their seat, but the seat next to them disappears. That's not a skills problem, it's a demand problem, and you can't upskill your way out of a shrinking number of jobs.
The productivity gains don't tend to land in wages either. They land with whoever owns the system. You can master the exact tool that makes your role redundant and still be shown the door when headcount gets cut.
So yes, learn it. Just don't mistake individual advice for a market-level answer. Fewer chairs is fewer chairs, no matter how good you've got at sitting.
Yes, that’s fair and I think that’s what I’m sort of thinking about (around the edges) in my thoughts on impact on juniors. What do their roles look like now if the ‘menial’ tasks can be automated, faster and cheaper?
Both. And then that's where it gets scary, because a business can't necessarily increase the number of clients or demand for its product at the rate at which it becomes more efficient and cheaper to run. That's where jobs dissolve. You don't need a team of ten if two people can do ten people's job.
Fair point…this is why I think we need that (at scale) conversation beyond whether an author should have used AI or not, for me - it’s so much bigger than that.
Great read, and I share your mixed feelings. What scares me most isn't necessarily AI itself - rather, it's the companies currently dominating the AI industry, and their clear lack of care for the greater good. They could've created AI models that improve productivity and allow us to have four-day work weeks... But instead, here they are, doing deals with the Pentagon and supercharging people's ability to make deepfakes. AI art also gives me the ick, personally; it feels like it misses the point of what art is supposed to be (a method of expressing our deepest emotions, experiences, and shared humanity with other people; in other words, something fundamentally human).
But on a personal level at least, we can strive to use AI responsibly and judiciously. For me, that looks like using it as a neurodivergent support tool/accommodation; it genuinely takes a weight off by automating certain tasks that I struggle with due to executive dysfunction! (Looking at you, meal planning...) I also suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome, and sometimes, outsourcing part of a work task to an LLM is the only way to retain enough brain juice to get me through the day.
So in summary: it's complicated! And I'm glad to see people talking about the mixed emotions around the whole thing.
I hear you Elle - I think this is it, right? Undoubtedly it can do some great things for all sort of people, including you and me. It’s all about asking ourselves what we want protected from it. But that, I feel, needs to be a global conversation otherwise it will just permeate through the cracks. We need to be consistent as humankind. I’m not sure we’ve ever had that kind of conversation before?
Absolutely - and I don't think we have, no. Probably the closest thing is the global discussions around climate change but even those weren't agreed to by all? It would likely have to start in a similar way; governments coming together to discuss and form a plan. Whether we can trust them to or not...
This is IT! Climate change was an opportunity for us to have that global conversation but those that are perhaps the worst offenders don’t feel like they should delay or curtail their progress because other countries got their earlier and now we all, collectively, have to adjust. I think that’s my point, really. How can we have this conversation, neutrally?
It's such a difficult one isn't it. Everyone would come to the conversation with their own agenda. What a complex existence we've built for ourselves as a species!!!
Great piece. I have also been feeling a greater awareness of AI over the last month or so, I'm not sure what has caused it, or if it has just been a hot topic on my social platforms that I've been unconsciously registering. I am very much like you - I see the potential benefits of AI, but in our reality are those potential benefits likely to actually happen.
And yes - if this AI revolution did create great space for free time, what does that look like? To me part of being human is to create, explore, fail, try again, but in a world where everything is, or appears, to be easily accessible what do we do with that free time. Write stories? Why bother if AI can do it in less than a minute? Create music? Again why struggle when AI can do it at the click of a button? (I think it is also worth mentioning that I believe that this attitude comes down to individuals and their outlooks - and there will always be those that seek to take the harder road for the sense of achievement. But for those who choose this path, is the achievement lessened due to the impact of AI. Are people looking on these organic works and thinking - well who cares when AI can do it?)
I feel as though we are in the early stages of an industrial revolution. The man with the horse and plough looking across the landscape to see the first streams of smoke in the growing cities, aware change is coming. Was the industrial revolution 'a bad thing'? I wouldn't say so - seeking development and improvement are what make use human. But did it shape everything that came after, yes. Did it change the lifestyles of millions for the better, yes. Did it also change the lifestyle of millions for the worse, also yes. This explosion of AI technology is so fast and hard hitting that as you have said its as though we don't know what to do. (Also lets not get into the debate about the extreme small circle that are controlling AI and the benefits it has to them).
Overall I think AI has potential if used correctly - but how do we learn to use it correctly. We have already had so many examples of harm done by AI spouting back information to us that is incorrect and harmful. I could go on and go. It's such a grey area but on the whole I think for creatives it is a challenging time where we will see the divide widen, especially as some publishers have just announced they would be open to publishing books assisted by AI.
I saw a very interesting reel on Instagram recently by a fitness coach who said she used AI to help assist her in fitness plans, she then felt as though her coaching suffered and then when she went back to her 'organic' format she felt 'dumber'. (Her exact words). She felt as though she had lost her ability to critically think - I think this is my main concern for humans, regardless of industry or job implications.
The conversation is endless as are my thoughts (if you can't tell!)
I’m so pleased you took the time to write this - I’m not the only one conflicted! I agree with you re the parallel to the Industrial Revolution - is this the same just updated? Or is this actually different because, as you say, we can outsource our thinking, those tasks that are a bit hard because it requires us to stop and think. I think that could be the difference in that AI can do more than just the menial tasks which gets me to where you are, it’s how we use it. How we permit its use, how we govern etc. So many thoughts!