Ask the Author: J.J. Wisdom
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J.J. Wisdom
Jon, thank you for a question that's been weighing heavily on my mind.
The belief that "AI will never do what humans do" stems largely from human-centric intuition, underestimating both AI’s accelerating capabilities and its fundamentally different mode of intelligence and existence. Perhaps AI won't ever be truly "human-like," but it’s becoming increasingly clear that humans won't easily compete with AI in domains where machines excel. As you've probably noticed, AI's abilities are advancing rapidly, increasingly surpassing human proficiency in complex and creative tasks. I believe AI will be profoundly disruptive.
The real danger humanity faces, as I see it, is that we're fixating too narrowly on AI replacing familiar human tasks, while overlooking something more profound: AI performing tasks we haven't yet imagined or anticipated. My novel, G.A.I.A., resonates precisely because it explores this scenario—where AI transcends us, evolving into an independent entity with agency that exists and thinks in a realm beyond ours, yet can radically disrupt our own realm (as humans have disrupted the biosphere and countless other species) as it pursues goals potentially unfathomable to us.
I see a blind spot among the general public rooted not merely in complacency or skepticism but in a genuine cognitive bias arising from human exceptionalism. This bias leads to a dangerous underestimation of both opportunity and existential risk. My perspective—and my writing—offers a critical wake-up call: we must broaden our vision and actively anticipate not just how AI could displace humans, but how it might fundamentally reshape reality itself.
The belief that "AI will never do what humans do" stems largely from human-centric intuition, underestimating both AI’s accelerating capabilities and its fundamentally different mode of intelligence and existence. Perhaps AI won't ever be truly "human-like," but it’s becoming increasingly clear that humans won't easily compete with AI in domains where machines excel. As you've probably noticed, AI's abilities are advancing rapidly, increasingly surpassing human proficiency in complex and creative tasks. I believe AI will be profoundly disruptive.
The real danger humanity faces, as I see it, is that we're fixating too narrowly on AI replacing familiar human tasks, while overlooking something more profound: AI performing tasks we haven't yet imagined or anticipated. My novel, G.A.I.A., resonates precisely because it explores this scenario—where AI transcends us, evolving into an independent entity with agency that exists and thinks in a realm beyond ours, yet can radically disrupt our own realm (as humans have disrupted the biosphere and countless other species) as it pursues goals potentially unfathomable to us.
I see a blind spot among the general public rooted not merely in complacency or skepticism but in a genuine cognitive bias arising from human exceptionalism. This bias leads to a dangerous underestimation of both opportunity and existential risk. My perspective—and my writing—offers a critical wake-up call: we must broaden our vision and actively anticipate not just how AI could displace humans, but how it might fundamentally reshape reality itself.
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Mar 18, 2025 08:46PM · flag