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If We Don’t Need People Anymore, What Are We Going to Do With Them?
Will AI make humans obsolete?
When my son was small, I used to joke that the toys were getting so sophisticated that we didn’t really need children anymore. The toys could just play by themselves. Back then, I was joking. Today I’m not so sure.
It seems like the tendrils of artificial intelligence and robotics are working their way into almost every facet of modern life. When contacting a company for information or to complain, you are made to interact with a chat bot. It doesn’t matter if you call or go to their website, the result is the same. It has become almost impossible to reach a human being.
On a recent trip to Los Angeles to visit my son, I noticed a robotic delivery vehicle making its way down the sidewalk and through the crowd delivering who-knows-what to who-knows-who. Almost none of the people walking on the sidewalk even stopped to notice. Maybe they were simply used to seeing these things, but I, in my full-blown country bumpkin mode, was amazed.
I wondered how long it would be before drone delivery would be the norm instead of Amazon trucks. I’ve seen people operate drones with amazing accuracy, and after watching the robotic delivery vehicle navigate a busy sidewalk, I have no doubt that before long, drones will…
