Navigating the AI Frontier: History’s Lessons on Innovation and Fear
The AI buzz is in the air, feels like it’s everywhere, sparking endless conversations and debates on the net.
Who could have imagined, the unprecedented pace of its spread. Its left many of us tizzy with anticipation & many are grappling with its implications on their careers and the future.
Techies and tech enthusiasts are thrilled, embracing AI like it’s a stairway to productivity heaven. Everyone seems to be selling or buying AI courses for excel, design, writing, marketing and whatnot.
Meanwhile, there are a large section of people who have their eyebrows raised, full of doubts and skepticism.
I worked on a VR Game project ( in 2017–18) where we trained an AI model to learn dance moves. Then last year, I tested out both Perplexity & Bard (Now Gemini) on a rather challenging ghostwriting project, and continue to use various AI tools.
That puts me in the camp who experienced the potential of AI, much before its recent international explosion.
With all this recent drama, I was curious to learn, how did people react to life changing inventions in the past. Following the latest trend, I used GPT-4o ( AI is indeed the new search) to find some answers.
Turns out, our responses to the printing press, railways, airplanes, industry and the internet were just like today’s reactions to AI. We had our optimists and our naysayers back then, too.
So, what’s changed , in our past and how does it compare to our present responses to ground breaking technologies?
Based on my findings, these are the three major points to reflect upon:
1. Nature of Interaction
Can you imagine a mini-truck sized( or a small one) six color printing press in action. It needs human hands ( to pull the lever, press the knob, pour the ink etc) to operate. The same was true for early computers. Even now we have to click buttons and press keys. But back then computers were room size huge, and you had to make them do things.
AI changes this. It learns from data (we give it), adapts, and then it learns to make decisions on its own. This means, it could operate that press once you teach it everything you know. It’s like having a helper that gets better and faster, (Leeloo from the Fifth Element kind of fast ) the more it learns.
2. Complexity and Scope of Tasks
Man made early machines to do one thing well. Machines either printed books, made cars, or calculated numbers. They were limited by their design and our instructions.
AI, on the other hand, handles complex tasks. It recognizes patterns ( by analyzing millions of images, text etc), understands language ( it speaks in English in different voices), and can make predictions. It can even create new content (hand shake header image took less than 1 min), in seconds, enabled by powerful GPU’s and faster computing power.
3. Learning and Adaptation
Old machines didn’t learn. They did their job and that was it. AI learns and adapts over time, getting better at its tasks without us having to tweak it constantly.
Reasons for Fear and Doubt About AI-Driven Collaboration
People worry about AI taking jobs, losing control over machines, ethical issues, and even existential risks. But we’ve seen these fears before.
When the internet arrived in the 90’s, it sparked debates about privacy and job losses too. The Industrial Revolution caused riots over mechanization. And your grandparents will tell you stories, on how the Cold War brought existential fears (some people built fortified bunkers under their homes) about nuclear weapons.
Conclusion
These fears are part of a recurring pattern whenever new technologies emerge. That’s being human, but yet here we are, in the AI age.
So the way forward is to look at how we addressed issues the last time we encountered such a situation — it was through education, regulation, and public engagement.
Jensen Huang the CEO of NVIDIA believes, AI is like the next industrial revolution. Fei-Fei Li, the “godmother of AI,” thinks it’s a new chapter in human-machine collaboration.
Right now, some of the worlds best minds are at work, using AI to solve small and very large problems in healthcare ( AI will speed up new medical research), farming, environment, space etc .
The list of problems AI can tackle is quite long. The list of jobs AI will create will be long too ( more on this in a later article).
And some jobs may become obsolete, its always been this way with new technological advancements. That’s the nature of the world we live in.
Didn't the internet and mobile/smart phones disrupt how we live today.
What most of us don't know; We have been using AI in one form or other everyday for many years now.
Some of the most common applications with millions/billions of users- SIRI, Alexa, You Tube, Spotify, Pinterest, Airbnb, Gmail, Twitter, Facebook, all use AI.
With the recent super wave of AI applications, millions have access to these powerful tools.
So, going forward, this is what we ( Scientists, Policy Makers, Educators, Businesses, Media) need to do;
- Educate: To teach about AI and its benefits.
- Regulate: To ensure safeguards are put in place for the ethical use of AI.
- Engage: Talk openly and address the concern people have about AI.
- Innovate: Help people embrace AI while implementing safeguards.
Humans change, once they see a tangible benefit. After they discover, whats in it for them, they have good reasons to be less anxious and more reasons to trust AI.
