Courtesy of Wikipedia.org
I read an article the other day about how different species experience time. Some perceive changes in motion faster than others. Bees and snails live in different “timescapes,” each defined by how quickly their experiences are “stitched together.” As a result, it could be said they live in different worlds.
Doubtless, technology will alter how humans perceive their world. We may imagine we can control that, and maybe we can. But how far do we intend to allow this brave new world to unfold? Should we encourage mind-reading technology? Neurotechnology is advancing so quickly that if we don’t decide soon, we may lose the right to privacy for our thoughts.
Because technology is mankind’s pursuit, we can’t blame AI for its outcomes. We’ve made a habit of endangering ourselves down through the centuries. War is an example. Mercifully, some of these are figurative rather than actual skirmishes, like the one between youth and old age.
A friend sent me an article on that last point. The writer must have been a fledgling because she offered little insight. The old and the young are different, she opined. Seniors want cheaper drug prices; their counterparts want good-paying jobs. The former usually win the day because they are a larger demographic, and they vote.
Her observations are true. Nonetheless, society has survived the competition. That may be changing, however. The tech bros, once youthful idealists, gave us AI with good intentions. In middle age, they have become greedy and morphed into bullies. Elon Musk uses his money to interfere with democratic elections and threatens those who would thwart his objectives. Those who pick fights with me should understand that I will find out who is really pulling the strings and come for them, not just their puppets.
Mark Zuckerberg is another who perverted his gift. A court has found him guilty of exploiting youngsters on his social platforms and forced him to pay a $17.1 billion fine for violating the Online Privacy Protection Act.
Treating young people like commodities is bad enough. Now experts say AI is likely to damage their future with massive job losses, leaving them economically worse off than their parents.
In ordinary times, we know what repercussions follow from lost opportunity: depression, alcoholism, and drug addiction. Another consequence is also emerging. Growing aggression. A new survey among college students revealed that 45% believed violence is sometimes necessary, a rise from 30% in 2017.
This scenario is playing out in Europe, where youthful violence is on the rise. How long before it ignites here? Many of our leaders fail as role models because they advocate violence themselves. In the words of our president, “If you see someone ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of him, would you?”
Sadly, few of these adults speak for the children. Our schools are in shambles. Food insecurity is rampant. Childcare is nonexistent.
Is it too late to make amends? Maybe not. Mid-term elections may throw out the charlatans. That would be a good first step. But it’s not the only one required.
Too many of us have kept silent while our values have been put to the torch. We must correct that mistake and give full-throated support for the return of decency. Compassion, diversity, and inclusion aren’t weaknesses, as some have said. They are strengths. We, elders, must repeat that message again and again. When we do, we teach. That is our duty to the young.
BOYCOTT: Tesla, Apple, Amazon
