Embracing Human-Centric Values in the Age of AI
In today’s rapidly advancing technological landscape, the rise of AI has brought about remarkable advancements and opportunities. However, it also presents challenges to our fundamental human experiences and values. As we navigate this new era, it’s essential to reflect on how AI impacts our lives and how we can maintain our humanity in the process.
What do humans enjoy?
At our core, we:
- Think: We possess the unique ability to reason and ponder the world around us. We question and challenge ourselves for every question and answer.
- Learn: Our curiosity drives our continuous pursuit of knowledge and understanding. Our ability to accumulate, build upon, and improve our knowledge has set us apart from other species.
- Do: We have the capacity to act and create, shaping our environment. We walk to get food, run to stay away from danger, and we act to get the results. We challenge our physical capability to experience the joy.
- Communicate: We express ourselves and connect with others through language and emotions. It’s not just what we communicate but also how we communicate, which can make the world of difference.
- Feel: We have 5 senses that allow us to feel the world round us through sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. There may be a 6th sense called intuition. Our rich emotional lives give depth to our experiences.
- Connect: Meaningful relationships and a sense of community are essential to our well-being. We connect with each other through shared interest, experience, and emotions.
- Values & Beliefs: Our core value systems and beliefs are the compass guiding us throughout out life. How we think, communicate, behave, act and react all are driven by and are reflection of our core values and beliefs.
How has technology changed us?
With the introduction and proliferation of technologies, particularly AI, we find ourselves standing at a crossroads. We no longer think as deeply before AI does the reasoning for us. Our mental faculties, once honed by problem-solving and critical thinking, risk becoming dormant. We don’t do or act as much before as AI agents and robotics perform tasks on our behalf, or everything can be ordered online and delivered at our doorsteps, or the experience can be simulated through virtual environments. Consequently, physical inactivity creeps into our lives, making obesity a national or even global concern.
The way we pursue knowledge has also changed. With AI providing answers at our fingertips, our curiosity and intellect have decreased. We do not go through those mandate tasks or laborious experiences to find the precious answers or insights. We give up on hope and effort because AI has accumulated all knowledge and answers in the world. Social interactions are often confined to the screens of our cell phones and social media platforms. Despite these technologies being designed to connect us, they frequently leave us feeling lonelier and more isolated than ever.
We are heavily influence by social media and we start to lose our own identities, beliefs and connections to our core values. We constantly want to measure up to other’s standards or look like the perfect images on those platforms. We are feverishly chasing the meaningless likes, followings, and comments. We feel empty, hallow, and lost inside ourselves. While AI brings remarkable advancements and opportunities, it also challenges the very essence of what it means to be human.
What shall we focus on in the AI age?
- Decision Making: The link between thinking and doing is decision making. Humans must remain at the helm, making critical decisions and guiding AI in ethical and meaningful directions.
- Innovation: The link between doing and learning is creativity and innovation. As AI and robots handle repetitive tasks, humans should focus on driving innovation and exploring new frontiers.
- Sharing: The link between learning and connecting is sharing. By sharing our insights and knowledge, we foster a sense of community and collective growth.
- Articulation: The link between thinking and communicating is articulation. We must decide what and how to communicate, ensuring our messages are clear and purposeful, while letting technology support the delivery.
- Empathy: The link between communicating and feeling is empathy. Our ability to understand and share the feelings of others is a uniquely human trait that must be nurtured and preserved.
- Bonding: The link between feeling and connecting is bonding. Building genuine connections through shared experiences and emotions is fundamental to our human experience.
- Purpose: The ultimate driver for human-begins is purpose. Purpose brings meaning to life. All AI models need objectives, and those objectives needs to be decided by humans and aligned with human purpose.
Conclusion
When we overly focus or rely on technology, we risk losing our own identity, purpose and existence. Now, more than ever, we must clearly define our purpose and hold onto and strengthen our core values and beliefs. The purpose is the north star, and the values and beliefs will guide us and illuminate our journey in the AI age.
As we enter the AI era, let us be clear and firm on our purpose, and remember to embrace and enhance our human-centric values and beliefs. By focusing on decision-making, innovation, sharing, articulation, empathy, and bonding, we can ensure that technology serves as a tool to elevate our humanity and drive meaningful outcome that benefits all human-beings. Instead of fearing of being replaced by AI in the ever-evolving society and competitive marketplace, embracing the changes while honing unique human capabilities will ensure that you will survive and thrive in the new AI age. Let’s cherish and uphold the values that make us uniquely human and use technology to enhance our lives in meaningful ways.
