I was attending a workshop the other day in which the question came up of what will happen to human creativity as AI continues to advance. One participant worried that AI might make end up doing everything, and then there would be nothing left for humans to do.
To my great relief, there was immediate pushback from many participants. One participant pointed out that children don’t need a reason to play together on a playground. Children play together on a playground because that’s what they like to do.
Similarly, we don’t do things just because they need to be done. We often do things because that’s what we like to do.
We take a walk, converse with one another, paint, play the guitar, and do a million other things simply because it feels good to o them. And in the case of engaging in these pleasurable activities, we often come up with new ideas.
This is wildly different from what AI does. AI does not engage in pleasurable activities, or think about things or people just because those things or people happen to be amusing or intriguing or charming.
Yes, AI will continue to advance. But that doesn’t mean that AI will replace us, any more than cars or telephones or pianos have replaced us.
Our tools and technologies, no matter how powerful they become, do not replace us. They simply allow us to express our humanity in new ways.