Every day, I have the fortune of listening to your perspectives, while infusing my thinking with the latest industry developments and discussions.
With our theme of Intelligence Renaissance, I am always asking myself “what is intelligence?”
We have often said "human intelligence vs artificial intelligence" but I was reading an article in the New York Times, and it used the word "natural intelligence vs artificial intelligence." And it unlocked an epiphany in my head this evening.
Whether natural, or artificial, -- both are forms of human intelligence, but structured and accessed differently. Why? Humans created artificial intelligence, which is our innate abilities and natural intelligence, with the help of the internet and knowledge tools, is now organized into large data sets and reinterpreted with the power of language models and interfaces to make it accessible and conversational.
Access essential insights
Become a digital subscriber today. Trusted by the world's top design executives.
The Essential Insights. Trusted by leading Chief Design Officers.
Become a digital subscriber today and access insights in our suite of benefits delivered digitally. Decode key business trends, access expert events, and get the information you need to know.
The fact that ChatGPT can provide us with such instantaneous responses, edits, and synthesis is extraordinary, despite some of its shortcomings. Which brings me to think:
The real problem and opportunity here is not AI itself, but the relationship we will intentionally construct, allow, or disallow as a result of our own clarity.
It reminded me of a talk I gave at SCAD last year about "Design Being" - inspired by Irene Au's teachings to me about how our design choices reflect our values. This is further echoed by Benedikt Lehnert about the importance of our world view and radical inquiry to achieve that level of deep insight about who we want to be, and how we want to extend that into our choices.
The distinction here is that most of the people reading this article are technology makers or interface designers who have the power to convert technology into something humanly usable. If it weren't for these roles, we would be staring at a messy sea of data and code that is unusable by the majority of humans.
So, what is the point of all of this? Artificial Intelligence, like any technology preceding it, is a reflection of who we are as humans -- a race so deeply characterized by our burning desire to self-improve, innovate, and achieve greater living standards. This inner fire is what separates us from any other species, and is what is both a gift and a curse of our human lives.
It brings us back to the fact that AI is once again, a tool for humans to use. Whether positively or negatively, we have the power to not operate unconsciously, half-asleep at the wheel; but rather, awaken our inner senses and access our more intentional, reflective states to deeply understand why we want to create something, and how we can create it in a way that benefits humans and minimizes the likelihood of harm.
dawdawd asd awd awd awdad
Social media, like AI, is again, a tool with powerful implications. As persuasive as these tools can be, we are also humans with the choices to step away, and not let it control our behaviors and eat away at our humanity, one that is uniquely marked by our pursuit of joy, meaning, and relationships. A world without any one of those three things will take us into a dark abyss, a cold universe that might not be worth living in.
So, coming back to the top. All of this is human intelligence. We created AI. It didn't create itself. However, this is the first time a technology we have created has the capacity for self-improvement and potential independence. With AI's potential to achieve super intelligence and AGI, it has the power, if not well-regulated and governed, to shift from a tool for humans, to an entity capable of something that might once have only been possible in sci-fi fiction.
This risk of any one of our technologies evolving from tool to autonomous weapons is one that startles me and makes me wonder -- do we need to act sooner than later to prevent such a race to the bottom? How might we create limitations before we need to use them?
This is the power of strategic design in my mind. It is about having access to a deeply intentional force that can guide clarity. And rather than simply saying humanity, let's get specific about enabling more joy, meaning, beauty, and connection at the core of everything we do, and allowing technology to amplify those things, not take it away from us.
I am more excited than ever before to see the age of intelligence bring in a golden era of human potential and advancement. Yet, I am optimistically cautious that as technology builders, we need to double down on realizing the larger implications of our decisions with the power of AI tools at our fingertips now. Let's enable humanity, not diminish it in favor of convenience.
An artist creates beauty through pain. And that pain is something worth enduring in exchange for greater meaning and beauty. Whether that is investing time to train for a marathon, or the endless hours we pour into our craft as artists to only start again - we must fight for the things that matter, even if they may be painful at times, because they matter to us.
