Is AI ruining our lives?

AI sure is one of the greatest discoveries ever, as well as the most frightening and feared of all. The reality is that human beings have always had a special interest in simulating the human brain, its complexity and reasoning ability. And since the 1950s and the first Turing experiments, we are here in 2024, where AI threatens to replace numerous jobs (including creative writers. Hurray!).

But that’s not all! Humans seem to be so fascinated by these two letters, AI, that it has spread like a sort of marketing strategy to include this acronym in any app or minimally technological tool: the era of AI-in-everything.

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The unsettling dystopia into which we are slowly sinking is similar to the one depicted in the Disney Pixar film WALL-E (2008), where humans survive in a sterile and luxurious environment without making the slightest physical effort.

In fact, what all these AI-powered creations have in common is that they aim to minimize the amount of ‘work’ (physical and/or mental) required from humans as much as possible.

ChatGPT can easily solve any math problem you encounter without the slightest mental effort; if you’re not an artist, the internet is full of websites that can generate any (and I mean any) vision you have in mind; and remember that challenging, yet rewarding thing called parenting? Forget every little challenge! AI will make your life easier.

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This $3000 AI powered stroller can drive itself! Who needs to create unique moments with their baby, and establish genuine bonding?

But we’re forgetting one important thing, that life is made of challenges, and it’s precisely these that give it meaning.

I know that raising a child is extremely complicated, but what could be better and more rewarding in life than watching your little one grow up with the values, education, and love that you, as parents, have instilled in them?

I know it’s hard to find time for your children, but do you really want their best memories to be of bedtime stories told by a robotic voice?

It’s true that drawing, writing, and any other art you want to cultivate are difficult to practice, and often we feel discouraged and just want to give up. However, your success will be even more satisfying and meaningful when you realize that you’ve overcome every obstacle and discouragement. You don’t want your work to be tainted by a cold, expressionless, and generic hand like AI. (And let’s be honest, it’s obvious when a piece of work is genuinely yours or not!)

As useful and important as this discovery may be for humanity, we should try to take a step back and not allow our lives to be completely shaped by this new reality.

If life has no specific purpose, we might as well be living it.

Simply finding fulfillment in the small things by living in the moment.