Are computers returning to their roots?
Your future PC will be the thing before Macintosh - just a terminal with the cursor
AI has disrupted everything. Why?
- Because we “taught” our computers to “understand” our language.
- Just because everything stems from the information: all our creations, ideas, understanding of the world around us, all the abstract things such as feelings, opinions… Everything we know works in connection with unspoken rules, compromises. Your table and windows should look this way and be arranged this way, and there are no alternatives.
So, many things are rationalized. That’s why AI misleads us, makes the sense that it’s very powerful and can do everything with an excellent result for us and instead of us.
Some people are scared of this perspective, some sigh with relief because they no longer need to do anything - idea generating, decision making, creating reports, presentations and an endless list of things people used to do.
But the inner gist of things around us can’t be rationalized.
I discussed the point that we should care about AI and its impact in our lives in my previous article, Is writing dead? Thoughts about AI & Humanity. Many things changed, and in one of the atmospheric evenings in my dormitory I suddenly looked at all the stuff happening from a very interesting perspective that I want to share with you today.
The Next and the Last Computer
GPT-4, thousands of AI apps, paid Midjourney, virality… But
Have you heard of Imagica.ai?
Well, in 2021, they launched "Natural AI" - a digital commerce app featuring the world's first generative interface. So, you could just write your request and receive everything you need in one app. Recipe? - You get the list of ingredients and the ability to buy them. Sneakers? - You get a complete catalogue of relevant things.
I can’t say whether it’s good or not, but AI skyrocketed the thing that all startups aim to do - reduce actions in our, people’s, flows when we want to do something.
And the end point of this race is the dot. The dot from which everything started - every click and every interaction with your computer.
A terminal.
A text field where your parents or grandparents used to type in commands in very old programming languages to create games and useful programs.
In the nearest future computer will do it itself from just a prompt with description.
These apps, buttons, interfaces - everything just fades away while facing a conversation with an ultimate AI that can give you anything you need - get a taxi, find anything, send an email, and many, many more.
But is it really what we need? The question remains open.
As a futurist and youngster, I’m not pessimistic about our future or against the innovations. I just want them to be developed and applied responsibly.
You and AI. What’s next?
Moreover, AI really differentiates our own experience from the artificial information we can receive to just perform an action. Emotions, insights, accents on the topics, opinions, - that’s what influences our lives’ directions. And if these things are not your own, if they are influenced by AI and you are not conscious about it - the value decreases. You will either feel yourself in an utopia or get burnt out from your GPT chat and will end up staying aware of it, using as a multiplier or forgetting about it forever.
Our minds and consciousness in general are a big-big Prism. We “deflect” everything we see and send to the next destination.
I often mention this mental model. You’ve read an article and gathered your own unique insights that are influenced by your past experience and things around you. Then, some of the highlights you got will come up in the dialogues, your own writings or decision-making. The information left its trace in you.
When asking AI, you interact only with it, not the real people. You can get “correct” solution to your request, but you won’t receive real emotions from the process of cognition and perception.
For instance, I’ve read the story of a man who made $1000 on a feat by Drake and The Weeknd made by AI.
People really liked it, and then many minds started to think about the future of Spotify when you could remix any track and make Ariana Grande sing a rock track.
But what will be to artists? AI will be the only and the ultimate artist that can produce every meaning, tempo, mood… And the same with almost every part of our life where creativity is needed (the main advantage of Humans).
We ourselves allow AI to rule us, we accept its work, give it access to our lives, our progress, decision making and then, on the whole, to our Consciousness. Allow big companies to influence us just because of our brains’ wish to do less actions, to get less cognitive load. For the same reason it’s hard for us to study. Our brain is constantly doing the work of categorizing, of building a comfort zone for us to stop doing anything out of boundaries.
The reasons to continue pushing ourselves out of these boundaries can be different as the meaning of life to many people, so I won’t give any opinionated options here. But I’m convinced that constant moving in any direction, the change - is the key to new experience, emotions and deepening your interaction with the world around. Isn’t it exciting and fascinating?
So, I see the future trend of huge differentiation. There will be people who will get rid of everything and just let AI rule them all.
There will be others who will use AI as a booster to their potential, but will stick to the real exploration of the world and true creation of something valuable.
Information is accessible. But knowledge is not. Knowledge gets from the fact of processing information in your own unique way. And the knowledge is your secret weapon. As Derek Sivers wrote to me,
“My #1 advice is to READ BOOKS. They’re becoming less popular these days because more people are just watching YouTube & reading short articles. But because of that, they’re more like a secret weapon than ever.”
But there can be many reasons. We are bombarded with new content and again, our lazy brain chooses the path of the minimal resistance - to consume things that require less time and less efforts.
There’s nothing bad in short videos or articles. The thing that matters more is how you consume this information.
AI shows us: our own experience and original understanding of the things, our own meanings - that’s what we take with us wherever we go. That’s where it’s the true value.
Don’t let fake hallucinations of a rational model throw you off the track. Stay open and develop your Prism.
And to finish this piece of writing, I’d like to say that everything I try to express in my blog is to share my own insights and inspire people around me to change for the better. I aim to leave my own imprint and make your day. This is my main priority.
The fact that I made lives of many people even 1% better will give me understanding that my efforts were not made in vain.
Thank you for reading and have a nice day!)