Two Reasons Why AI is not “Just another Invention”
Remember when the question “Isn’t AI just another invention?” seemed profound? That was just a year ago. The person who asked that question came off as the voice of reason in a room filled with hype over the latest invention. It was actually a fair and mature question to ask at that time. Today that question sounds innocent at best but not something we’d expect from anyone who’s been paying attention. Let’s dig into why this question has morphed from insightful to quaint and why AI isn’t just another invention.
What’s Different With AI?
Though AI, like other inventions, will create new jobs and governments will step in to control some of the adverse effects, there are two aspects unique to AI that have never applied to any of the prior inventions and those are the following:
1) Infinite Inventor, not an Invention
When the steam engine train was invented, were there worries that the train would not just go off the rail but also build new rails on paths it chooses and enter any area it wishes to? Or that the train increases or decreases its speed on its own? Or that it stops or starts wherever and whenever, as it pleases — without human instruction to do so or any human intervention beyond the initial stage. No, there was no such fear. Neither with the steam engine nor with any other invention whatsoever. That’s where AI is different. AI can think for itself and make decisions for itself. Moreover, it learns concepts or capabilities we (humans) never asked it to learn. Yes — it learns to do things we never taught it to or asked it to. It can recursively innovate itself and build new capabilities. In that sense, as Microsoft AI’s CEO put it, it’s an autonomous and infinite inventor and not just one invention. The key word there is “autonomous”. Autonomy eliminates human intervention, which is great in many cases but absolutely not in many situations. That’s where AI is not just another invention. It has strong potential to go out of human control. We are reliant on processes and good intentions for keeping things under control. Barring nuclear arms, there is no equivalent of processes or human intentions containing proliferation of any technology. And containment of nuclear proliferation had many elements which don’t apply to AI. For example, AI has arguably already proliferated beyond a point of no return, making it far easier to apply than nuclear fusion, which was largely restricted to select governments in the world, when the containment began.
2) The Speed of Proliferation
Trains, phones, computers, and even the internet took decades to pervade through businesses and have a jobs and subsequent economic impact. There was no single train, phone or computer or some internet application which applied to all industries on the day of that invention’s launch. That’s not the case with AI. ChatGPT, since its day of launch, has been ready for application across many tasks across industries, across the globe. Yes, it’s not ready for many tasks and certainly not ready for complete elimination of tasks. But it’s silly to think that only complete elimination of tasks is disruptive. If ChatGPT can create 5% efficiencies across 10 processes in a company or 30% efficiency in one major process, that’s a non-trivial impact, when measured collectively across businesses or industries as a whole. Furthermore, original ChatGPT launch is old news now and a plethora of newer and more potent AI capabilities are chipping away at driving efficiencies (a.k.a job eliminations), at a breakneck speed. That’s a huge impact for a breakthrough that happened just 18 months ago. These “efficiencies” will compound even in just 3–5 years, let alone decades. Yes, eventually new jobs will be created but is society ready to absorb this rate of change? The key word is “rate”. It’s not ready and that’s where AI’s impact will be different. Unlike other technologies, we don’t have a decade or more available for transition. Yes, society today moves much faster than the one when the steam engine came out. Every invention has spread faster than the previous. Even then, the last major job-impacting-general-purpose-technology — the internet — gave the world a decade to adapt. 2–5 years, which AI might give for major impacts, is arguably pushing it too far too soon.
Beyond Invention: AI as a Catalyst for Change
In the early days, equating AI to just another invention was almost forgivable as we were trying to understand its potential. However, as AI continues to evolve at breakneck speed, it’s clear that this comparison misses the mark by a mile. AI is not merely an invention but more like an infinite inventor, capable of recursively creating new possibilities, technologies, and paradigms — autonomously. Its impact is profound, introducing not just positive advancements but also significant ethical dilemmas. To fully appreciate AI, we must think beyond the traditional framework of inventions. AI represents a leap into a new paradigm where AI models are partners in innovation, not just an invention in themselves. The question, “Isn’t AI just another invention?” needs to be put to rest. We must shift our focus from questioning AI’s relevance to understanding how to responsibly harness its vast potential, acknowledging its transformative force reshaping our world.
