Interesting discussion about the future

State of the tech industry

I met a friend this weekend who unfortunately finds himself in the same position as myself, redundant in the tech industry. As expected our conversation became about AI and the future - whether it's good or bad, what the future holds, what about kids growing up in this new era, what jobs will be available, what will we do for money, what does the education system look like?

It was a heavy conversations filled with excitment, fear, curiousness and with very few answers.

Netflix documentary

He talked about this push for AGI (Artificail General Intelligence), not a term I have been all that familiar with over the last few years. Then a recommended watch on Netflix: The AI Doc.

You may have seen it, if not stop reading this and go watch it. It covers a lot and for me it was an accurate representation of how I myself am feeling about the current and future state of things. I don't want to write a review of it or cover much of what is on it in any detail as you would have a better experience watching it in the medium it was created for.

I still don't know if I find it comforting or if it added to the existing anxieties I have.

May contain spoilers so please STOP reading and go watch!

Anxieties and excitement

One of the main points that really hits home, is the uncertainty on how the world looks like in X timeframe. An uncomfortable thought for the youth of today. Listening to the predictions from the people who work at speed on improving and iterating on the next big AI model say certain things about making it through the next 10 years...

While also hitting on some of the amazing things that could come from AGI if focusing on humanity and care. Cures for all diseases and the best education for everybody. Amazing, if you can put the negative thoughts aside to really think about these. Not having to work but being able to do what we want, what we love, without worries of food, currency or health.

There really isn't a conclusion here.

Im finding this very hard to write about due to the thoughts spiraling in both directions, so this will be a post I return to.

The state of the tech industry

I met a friend this weekend who, unfortunately, finds himself in the same position as me: redundant in the tech industry. As expected, our conversation turned to AI and the future.

Is AI good or bad? What does the future hold? What will it be like for children growing up in this new era? Which jobs will still be available? How will people earn money, and what will education look like?

It was a heavy conversation, filled with excitement, fear, and curiosity. We came away with very few answers.

The Netflix documentary

He talked about the push towards AGI, or Artificial General Intelligence. It is not a term I have been especially familiar with over the last few years, so we also talked about a documentary on Netflix: The AI Doc.

You may have seen it already. If not, stop reading this and go watch it.

It covers a lot, and for me it was an accurate representation of how I am feeling about the current and future state of things. I do not want to write a review or go into much detail about what happens in it, because you will probably get a better experience by watching it in the medium it was made for.

I still do not know whether I found it comforting or whether it added to the anxieties I already had.

Spoiler warning: stop reading and watch the documentary first.

Anxiety and excitement

One of the main points that stayed with me was the uncertainty about what the world might look like in the future. That is an uncomfortable thought for anyone, but especially for young people growing up now.

The documentary includes predictions from people working at speed to improve and iterate on the next generation of AI models. Hearing them talk about what might happen over the next ten years is difficult to process, partly because the timescale feels so close and partly because so much of it is impossible to predict with any confidence.

At the same time, it also talks about the extraordinary things AGI could potentially help achieve if it were developed with humanity and care at the centre. Cures for diseases. Better education for everyone. A world where people might not have to work simply to afford food, housing, currency, or healthcare, and could instead spend more time doing what they actually want to do.

Those possibilities are amazing to think about, if I can put the more negative thoughts aside for long enough to consider them properly.

No conclusion yet

There is not really a conclusion here.

I am finding this difficult to write about because my thoughts keep spiralling in both directions. I can see reasons to feel excited, and just as many reasons to feel anxious. For now, this is a post I will return to as I think about it more and as the conversation develops.