[ 6 minute read ]

Today, incredible strides in AI technology are reshaping our intellectual landscape in profound ways.

While many are concerned that AI use may lead to a decline in our intelligence, this article suggests something different: that by relieving our brains from overwhelming technical inflows, AI can actually enable us to reach greater intellectual heights.

Instead of fearing automation, let's embrace it as a chance for modern critical thinking, exploration, and innovation. In the future, we can envision a world where new intellectual pioneers emerge, transforming our understanding of ethics, human well-being, and the world itself.

In the annals of history, the year 1967 stands, marked by significant events such as the six-day war, the summer of love, Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and the tragic deaths of American astronauts. However, amidst the chaos, a seemingly forgotten invention took place, one that would have far-reaching consequences and forever alter the way we utilise our cognitive faculties.

Jerry Merryman, a young engineer from Dallas, together with his team at Texas Instruments, introduced the world to the Cal-Tech electronic calculator. For a price tag of $400, individuals could possess a pocket-sized plastic device adorned with buttons and symbols that could instantaneously and flawlessly solve any basic arithmetic problem.

Crucially, this revolutionary gadget operated invisibly, liberating users from the tedious mental labor associated with mathematics.

The magic behind Merryman's creation lay in semiconductors and algorithms, which have since continued their relentless march forward, courtesy of other brilliant minds in the field.

These technological advancements have bestowed upon us the gifts we once yearned for. Our brains can now breathe a sigh of relief. No longer are we required to engage the recesses of our minds to decipher paper maps or navigate using sextants, compasses, and chronometers. GPS has provided us with an unwavering sense of direction.

Struggling with spelling or sentence construction? The advent of Commodore's WordCheck in the 1980s rendered the Oxford English Dictionary and Fowler's Modern English Usage obsolete, effortlessly addressing such linguistic conundrums.

Then, in April 1998, at a conference in Brisbane, two enterprising Americans named Page and Brin unveiled their paper on "The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine," presenting to the world the birth of Google. For the past twenty-five years, Google has stood as the omniscient oracle, capable of answering our every question in microseconds.

Currently, OpenAI (ChatGPT) is pioneering even more advanced technologies that promise to revolutionise mental labor beyond our wildest imaginations.

In recent months, such advancements have sparked widespread feelings of anxiety. The prevailing narrative suggests that our minds are destined to languish, withering away or expanding in unimaginable ways, whichever is worse.

A nightmarish scenario—for our physical selves—evokes memories of the 2008 film Wall-E, depicting a dystopian future where humans, having abandoned their polluted and debris-filled Earth, exist as flabby slobs, suspended in recliners and subsisting on high-calorie mush while blankly gazing at TV screens.

Now, a similarly dire prognosis looms over our minds. With machines assuming the mantle of our daily mental tasks, our brains risk becoming thoughtless vessels, our minds trapped in ceaseless daydreams. We could face spiritual stagnation. As intrinsic knowledge fades into insignificance, its perpetual availability at the touch of a screen renders the concept of human wisdom—a blend of knowledge and experience—ephemeral. Slowly but surely, society would founder, decay, body, mind, and soul.

This bleak outlook presents one vision of our impending doom. However, I refuse to succumb to the role of a doomsayer, at least when it comes to our minds. I challenge the notion that intellectual damnation awaits us.

Instead, I find cause for optimism, drawing inspiration from the wisdom of six ancient Greeks who laid the foundations and defined the very essence of knowledge: Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Herodotus, and Euclid.

The algorithmic revolution of today represents a necessary purging, freeing us from the jumbled mishmash of modern intellectual life. In doing so, it paves the way for a return to a more balanced sound-to-noise ratio, bestowing upon us a renewed sense of innocence and untapped potential.

Although it may sound fanciful, this newly formed post-AI society could potentially witness the emergence of a modern-day Euclid or a contemporary Plato. These figures, waiting in the wings, may rise from the ashes poised to craft a new edition of Ethics or rekindle our understanding of true human happiness, much like Aristotle did flawlessly 2,500 years ago.

In simpler terms, this means that in the future these individuals could have the potential to contribute to knowledge and understanding in a similar way that historical thinkers did in the past. Thus, a new generation of intellectual legends could come from unexpected places and have a profound impact on fields such as ethics and human happiness, just as Aristotle did 2,500 years ago.

If this is the true advantage of liberating our minds from the mundane tasks that electronic counterparts can handle, then the anticipation is palpable. Rather than fear intellectual stagnation, we should embrace the possibilities that lie ahead. Our minds, once purged of extraneous information deemed unnecessary by today's algorithms, will be primed for critical thinking, inquiry, wonder, contemplation, imagination, and creation.

Today's informational revolution should not be perceived as a harbinger of intellectual decline, but as a catalyst for a new era of intellectual growth and innovation. As we shed the burdens of mundane mental labor, we open ourselves up to a world of boundless exploration, where the potential for new discoveries and profound insights knows no bounds.

In this context, the automation of mental tasks can be viewed as a step towards enhancing our cognitive capacities rather than rendering them obsolete. As we navigate this transformative landscape, let us embrace the prospect of an intellectual renaissance, a future where the human mind, unburdened by menial chores, can soar to new heights of ingenuity and enlightenment.

The road ahead may be uncertain, but the future holds great promise. It is a time filled with opportunities for remarkable achievements. Let us embrace this era of automation, appreciating the endless possibilities it presents and fostering the growth of new ideas that can flourish in our rejuvenated minds.

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