AI

As technology develops irresistibly and voraciously, we now all gradually get affected by AI somehow. But, as disheartening and discouraging it is, those who thrive will continue to be the same thriving individuals.

There is a sort of anxiety trend running across the society. Just like a couple of years ago, everyone was sharing tutorials on how to master Python, just like a couple of years before that, when everyone was boasting about the number of days they spent learning English. This time, however, the hero of the moment is artificial intelligence.

Millions of people gets to code without any basics related to computer science or coding algorithms or anything. The world has turned into nights of Midjourney prompts. A feeble voice from the horizon whispers anxiously, "Will I need to learn this right now, or will I get wiped out?"

Their voices sound like they were terrified of missing their last train, and I feel that sense of urgency. When there is a new phenomenon, everyone says to you "it is the future, this is what is coming next". The feeling of being "left behind" because of not having learned something is natural, but this time is different. Artificial intelligence is not a niche technology for certain domains. It is open to everyone, equivalent to that of electricity or the internet : application is designed to be accessible to everyone.

However, I wish for everyone to stop and reflect upon one question.

Everyone can write.

As a child, everyone knows how to pick up a pen, form strokes, and recite passages. Nine years of mandatory schooling have resulted in more than a billion citizens of this country able to articulate their own paragraph.

Everyone can speak.

The ability to talk can be seen when a child is three asking for a piece of candy, a vendor in the wet market bargaining for five minutes without repetition, or a colleague discussing everything from international affairs to children’s enrollment into schools.

How many became great writers? Great speakers?

One could say there's a need for a certain talent when it comes to writing or orating. Fair enough. Let's use another everyday example – how many employees in your company use Word regularly? Practically everybody. But how many can write a coherent report?

Tools are tools. What mattered and made us distinctive, competitive and precisely useful was the person wielding them all along.

The reality of modern AI technologies is precisely the same logic as writing, speaking, creating presentations. Indeed, it lowers the barriers and increases the efficiency in doing certain tasks significantly, but it also erases the experience and intrinsic value we usually gain when doing these tasks ourself. No programming skills required, no algorithms knowledge needed – one just has to be logically sound and clearly formulate their needs and tasks, and AI will do the job of article writing, image creating, data analysis, organizing information and many other things. Yet as long as these skills are not completely wiped out, that they are still necessary to exist, we should still value the first-hand experience in trying them out for ourselves.

On top of that, there is also an invisible river between simply knowing how to use AI and using AI effectively.

Running through this river, are your critical thinking abilities. Can you tell when the AI is giving you options and whether one is good while the other is deceiving you? Your sense of aesthetics. Can you tell what's wrong with the AI-created image and ask for modifications? Your logical reasoning abilities. Can you dissect the problem into digestible steps for the AI to process and synthesize them back together for comprehension by everyone else? Your ability to reason.

AI does save one some time, but it cannot think for him. Be capable of using AI, but don't consider or rely on it as a life-saver.

Those who will continue to prosper are most likely to remain unchanged – not necessarily the ones who figure out the newest technology, but the ones who can think clearly, have dedication to their job, and make decisions of their own accord. Technological advancements may come and go, yet a clear mind and capable hands are uncommon during any period.

AI is now upon us. It is very potent.

However, you are too.