The Chief People Officer of OpenAI (ChatGPT) writes that there is soon to be a rapid societal transformation triggered by AGI, one largely underestimated by the general public. This transformation will significantly restructure economies as AI replaces analytical and white-collar jobs. Consequently, society will witness economic shifts emphasizing emotional intelligence, creative expression, and human-centered occupations like healthcare, social services, and arts.
Psychologically and culturally, humans will likely redefine self-worth, identity, and educational priorities, shifting from cognitive and analytical excellence to creative and emotional connectivity. However, this shift is fraught with potential societal destabilization, ethical dilemmas, and identity crises, especially without proactive preparations and adaptations.
Furthermore, paradoxes and tensions will likely surface, especially as society oscillates between optimism (AI solving critical challenges) and skepticism (ethical concerns, potential inequities, and human displacement). Navigating these paradoxes requires nuanced, imaginative, and balanced thinking to effectively integrate AI into societal fabric.
Taking an AGI pill as The Chief People Officer of Open AI suggests is the first red flag for me. The second is opening up to a world of creative possibilities. There are three issues here. No one is yet talking about how to solve the economic impact AGI will have on millions of people. And if AGI is doing the creating as a generative super intelligence are we just passive audience members watching a giant goggle box or is it Google box? If that's the case then it will simple lead to atrophy on all levels of our being. The final issue is, in my opinion, our current technology has led to less emotional intelligence and interpersonal and intrapersonal connectivity, not more.
That is a good observation Gavin. I think it is a poor choice of title and the message gets lost. Plus she may be drinking the Kool-Aid. But this is one of her important points "As AI assumes roles once held by white collar workers, we’re going to find ourselves navigating an entirely new landscape of work and economic security, where our human intelligence may no longer serve as the primary driver of economic value. " Then she adds "If you imagine the possibilities of a workforce that is increasingly AI-powered, there is a very real possibility that this will have a destabilizing impact if we are not prepared."
OpenAI did a very detailed UBI study (paying a number of people a basic income) over several years due to concerns about the economic impact and made policy recommendations about it. There are many such cases, Switzerland also held a vote on this, trials in Canada, the UK and Sweden have also proven interesting. I dislike UBI, but it may be one of the only solutions. There are also specific taxes to be levied on AGI. Most governments are passive, waiting to act until they see the impact!
The other big points are those that you raise around passive audience and less EI and interpersonal connectivity. This is where I have hope... a little, I think we may see a resurgence of crafts and hobbies and human community. We need that.
It is also interesting that she notes "people will seek new ways to find meaning and purpose in their lives. Education may become less about memorization, and more about creativity and emotional connection. If the transition to AI goes well, an Age of Creativity may emerge where artistic expression, music, and storytelling play a central role in more interconnected communities." That is fascinating, maybe people will want the traditional connection and creative arts. It could happen if we have more time... I was discussing this at home last night, people want real stories, not AI stories, they want real people in films, not AI generated 'nobodies". of course there will be some of that, as we already have cartoon and animated films, but ultimately we will crave "real."
The delay will be the last mile of AI - which is implementation into the business, so maybe in 3 to 4 years, we start to see those layoffs. In the EU they are already moving toward national conscription, which will satisfy part of the 'job problem' but for sure we have a roller coaster ahead.. and lots of unanswered questions.
One of the big problems here is that it's getting increasingly difficult to distinguish real from CGI. Boosted with AI, not even AGI, it will become impossible. And there's no end in sight.
The key here is motivation i.e. what is the underlying motivation of the AI creators vs. what they'd like us to think. As we discussed yesterday DeepMind insisted on an ethics committee as part of their deal with Google, which was then dissolved within 3-years. We have also been told, for instance, that AI warfare is about saving lives, while it's really about money and power, as Facebook was less about connectivity and more about the monetization of massive data collection. To your point about UBI and taxation: will that be a welcome and realistic reality for those who would be taxed to effectively pay for those to be unemployed and tinker around in the arts and crafts movement? I think not. The fact remains that many of these corporations are roaming behemoths looking for countries, states, counties and cities to reduce their tax burdens to next-to-nothing. Why would they suddenly acquire a conscience and be willing cough up the taxes to support the leisurely creative lifestyles of the masses? And if they are encouraging the arts and crafts movement why is AI automating it and running roughshod over copyright? And we now have the British government on the brink of siding with Big Tech over fair use? I remain very skeptical!
"To your point about UBI and taxation: will that be a welcome and realistic reality for those who would be taxed to effectively pay for those to be unemployed and tinker around in the arts and crafts movement? "
Nope.
"Why would they suddenly acquire a conscience and be willing cough up the taxes to support the leisurely creative lifestyles of the masses?"
They will only if we sic another Luigi on them.
"And if they are encouraging the arts and crafts movement why is AI automating it and running roughshod over copyright."
Profiteering again.
"And we now have the British government on the brink of siding with Big Tech over fair use? I remain very skeptical! "
"We have also been told, for instance, that AI warfare is about saving lives, while it's really about money and power" True. "AI warfare is about saving lives" - wow - Orwellian-speak becomes the new norm. And I, brought up in the (family) shadow of two world wars, always thought war was about killing people, especially remembering those who 'didn't come back' on 11th November each year - and my aunts and uncles raising glasses to 'absent friends' each Christmas. The power of language - huh.
Your comment is so personal, Joshua. It brings home the tragic consequences of money, power and manipulation. This is why story is so powerful. It awakens people. So imagine a world where AI becomes the only storyteller in our world, a software powered by the likes of Musk and Zuckerberg. People who are disconnected from their feeling nature.
There is a new article in the NY Times which covers some of the areas we touch on here - "over the next decade, powerful A.I. will generate trillions of dollars in economic value and tilt the balance of political and military power toward the nations that control it"
"If we’re in denial — or if we’re simply not paying attention — we could lose the chance to shape this technology when it matters most."
We're in big trouble. The AI industry is constantly pushing it's "latest and greatest" with all the (considerable) force it can muster. Congress has already been caught with it's pants down, even before the rise of AI, just dealing with InYourFaceBook and Google selling its "users" up the river to the highest bidder.
I have a really bad feeling the AGI integration won't go smoothly - by design. The only ethic they follow is maximum profitability, to the exclusion of all else.
Let's face it, politicians aren't tech savvy, and won't likely become so anytime in the near future. They can barely understand what going on. And the only people "advising" them are the likes of Altman and Theil.
This is the unfortunate side "The only ethic they follow is maximum profitability". Even Ilya Sutskeyver with his Safe superintelligence will need a way to significantly repay the billions of investments.
Hence, we need to be more involved as a society to have this conversation.
Unfortunately, getting society at large involved is an undertaking comparable to pulling teeth - from a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
A big, part of it, indeed most of it, is that the capital/management/leisure class keeps us all hopping with work. Overload by design keeps us all "in line".
This is an excellent synopsis of the pivotal moment humanity currently faces. Those who submit to life within a digital mind-scape may find themselves trapped in a place where only total collapse of the controlling technology will bring them back to a place where they can reconnect with a higher plane of consciousness. It will require the return of the ancient rishis to bring that knowledge back. To once again whisper in the ears of those who will listen and reawaken that Divine spark. For some this may take thousands of years.
I think we're already trapped in it. We might not be around in a thousand years. Indeed, the way we're going, we might not be around in another hundred.
It’s always of our own making. In referring to the millions of years I am referring more to cosmic memory than human evolution out of which humans emerged.
It’s certainly true that we’ve been trapped for millions of years, but in more recent times many have begun to awaken. AI technology poses a threat to this awakening.
I was referring to the trap of our own making. That's only been around for a few thousand years. The trap you're referring to really isn't really a trap, it's just Mother Nature. We lived the same way all the other beasts do out in the wild.
A couple key issues that a liberal democracy needs to account for relate to the very real threat of excessive deference to AIs and algorithms.
If AI generated policies are promoted by AI systems to AI decision-making processes. What political role do humans even serve in such a society?
If even creative industries are overwhelmed by low-quality AI-generated art/music/movies/etc. getting promoted by AI algorithms that boost engagement. Will hobbies truly turn into art movements?
I think a return to the physical world as the theatre where culture happens, and rebuilding the public infrastructure for it is going to be a necessary part of the solution. A massive cultural shift needs to happen too though, and I'm crossing my fingers that it happens soon.
Good questions Amr. The Chief People Officer at OpenAI indicates a massive cultural shift and she thinks a return to traditional arts, theatre, museums, etc. I see this already where I live, the 'culture' buildings are thriving. My dystopian view is that 15 / 20% of the population will move to the traditional areas and seek out intellectual pursuits, and the remaining 80% or so will attend gladiator style events and scream at each other on X!
I do see similar trends around my city as well. I think your view is fairly accurate. My worry is what happens when the 80% gets tired of the next level of brainrot spectacle and tries to live more offline.
A big barrier for entry into traditional arts is the time/cost investment required. If 80% of society is too broke or working too many jobs to make ends meet, we might create a resentful underclass that despises the whole system. It's why I doubt the optimism of OpenAI's CPO.
Good point about hobbies turning into art movements. In a best-case scenario, this will happen, and will act as a psychological stabiliser in a chaotic time. But not only that, the creative process is a way for humans to tap directly into 'Source', which is their birthright, and for which connection to the land (Mother Earth) is essential for a vital life.
The Industrial revolution threw people off the land and forced them into soul-destroying and dangerous jobs in the mines and mills, broke up rural communities, and dispossessed them from their indigenous roots. We (Europeans) also once lived 'indigenously' (speaking as a Celt of both Scottish & Welsh descent). It looks like AGI will be the final act of violence against people's right to self-determination, to living a life worthy of being the humans we truly are. The creative arts (bottom up movements) are the only way; top-down regulation will never work - too many vested interests and the current trend of all power to Big-Tech shows no signs of changing with powerless (bought) politicians in place.
"For AGI I use the term defined by OpenAI in its mission statement:
“…by which we mean highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work.”"
Nice definition; scary definition too. Not sure who decides what is "economically valuable" work; and what their working definition of it is. I suspect the combined might of capitalism+technology will see humans as 'economic units' and deal with them accordingly.
The trouble is those who push these technologies don't seem to even wonder why self-check-outs in the (our local) supermarket are largely unused, and people (including myself) queue because we prefer interaction with a human, which in Portugal at least is an important aspect of everyday life. I sometimes practice trying to crack a joke with the check-out person - most of them go down like a lead-balloon. Intercultural humour translation is a tricky business.
If something like The Post-Office Scandal can happen, and take 10 years for some kind of justice to be delivered, the mind boggles at what bureaucratic-AGI can achieve/destroy, even if there are in theory avenues of redress. Thanks again for another greatly insightful post on 'the issue of our time' {apart from the money-as-debt+interest system, that is :) }
The Chief People Officer of OpenAI (ChatGPT) writes that there is soon to be a rapid societal transformation triggered by AGI, one largely underestimated by the general public. This transformation will significantly restructure economies as AI replaces analytical and white-collar jobs. Consequently, society will witness economic shifts emphasizing emotional intelligence, creative expression, and human-centered occupations like healthcare, social services, and arts.
Psychologically and culturally, humans will likely redefine self-worth, identity, and educational priorities, shifting from cognitive and analytical excellence to creative and emotional connectivity. However, this shift is fraught with potential societal destabilization, ethical dilemmas, and identity crises, especially without proactive preparations and adaptations.
Furthermore, paradoxes and tensions will likely surface, especially as society oscillates between optimism (AI solving critical challenges) and skepticism (ethical concerns, potential inequities, and human displacement). Navigating these paradoxes requires nuanced, imaginative, and balanced thinking to effectively integrate AI into societal fabric.
https://medium.com/@juliavillagra/thoughts-on-ai-490917d8553c
Taking an AGI pill as The Chief People Officer of Open AI suggests is the first red flag for me. The second is opening up to a world of creative possibilities. There are three issues here. No one is yet talking about how to solve the economic impact AGI will have on millions of people. And if AGI is doing the creating as a generative super intelligence are we just passive audience members watching a giant goggle box or is it Google box? If that's the case then it will simple lead to atrophy on all levels of our being. The final issue is, in my opinion, our current technology has led to less emotional intelligence and interpersonal and intrapersonal connectivity, not more.
That is a good observation Gavin. I think it is a poor choice of title and the message gets lost. Plus she may be drinking the Kool-Aid. But this is one of her important points "As AI assumes roles once held by white collar workers, we’re going to find ourselves navigating an entirely new landscape of work and economic security, where our human intelligence may no longer serve as the primary driver of economic value. " Then she adds "If you imagine the possibilities of a workforce that is increasingly AI-powered, there is a very real possibility that this will have a destabilizing impact if we are not prepared."
OpenAI did a very detailed UBI study (paying a number of people a basic income) over several years due to concerns about the economic impact and made policy recommendations about it. There are many such cases, Switzerland also held a vote on this, trials in Canada, the UK and Sweden have also proven interesting. I dislike UBI, but it may be one of the only solutions. There are also specific taxes to be levied on AGI. Most governments are passive, waiting to act until they see the impact!
The other big points are those that you raise around passive audience and less EI and interpersonal connectivity. This is where I have hope... a little, I think we may see a resurgence of crafts and hobbies and human community. We need that.
It is also interesting that she notes "people will seek new ways to find meaning and purpose in their lives. Education may become less about memorization, and more about creativity and emotional connection. If the transition to AI goes well, an Age of Creativity may emerge where artistic expression, music, and storytelling play a central role in more interconnected communities." That is fascinating, maybe people will want the traditional connection and creative arts. It could happen if we have more time... I was discussing this at home last night, people want real stories, not AI stories, they want real people in films, not AI generated 'nobodies". of course there will be some of that, as we already have cartoon and animated films, but ultimately we will crave "real."
The delay will be the last mile of AI - which is implementation into the business, so maybe in 3 to 4 years, we start to see those layoffs. In the EU they are already moving toward national conscription, which will satisfy part of the 'job problem' but for sure we have a roller coaster ahead.. and lots of unanswered questions.
One of the big problems here is that it's getting increasingly difficult to distinguish real from CGI. Boosted with AI, not even AGI, it will become impossible. And there's no end in sight.
Very true :-(
The key here is motivation i.e. what is the underlying motivation of the AI creators vs. what they'd like us to think. As we discussed yesterday DeepMind insisted on an ethics committee as part of their deal with Google, which was then dissolved within 3-years. We have also been told, for instance, that AI warfare is about saving lives, while it's really about money and power, as Facebook was less about connectivity and more about the monetization of massive data collection. To your point about UBI and taxation: will that be a welcome and realistic reality for those who would be taxed to effectively pay for those to be unemployed and tinker around in the arts and crafts movement? I think not. The fact remains that many of these corporations are roaming behemoths looking for countries, states, counties and cities to reduce their tax burdens to next-to-nothing. Why would they suddenly acquire a conscience and be willing cough up the taxes to support the leisurely creative lifestyles of the masses? And if they are encouraging the arts and crafts movement why is AI automating it and running roughshod over copyright? And we now have the British government on the brink of siding with Big Tech over fair use? I remain very skeptical!
The underlying motivation is profiteering.
"To your point about UBI and taxation: will that be a welcome and realistic reality for those who would be taxed to effectively pay for those to be unemployed and tinker around in the arts and crafts movement? "
Nope.
"Why would they suddenly acquire a conscience and be willing cough up the taxes to support the leisurely creative lifestyles of the masses?"
They will only if we sic another Luigi on them.
"And if they are encouraging the arts and crafts movement why is AI automating it and running roughshod over copyright."
Profiteering again.
"And we now have the British government on the brink of siding with Big Tech over fair use? I remain very skeptical! "
I concur.
"We have also been told, for instance, that AI warfare is about saving lives, while it's really about money and power" True. "AI warfare is about saving lives" - wow - Orwellian-speak becomes the new norm. And I, brought up in the (family) shadow of two world wars, always thought war was about killing people, especially remembering those who 'didn't come back' on 11th November each year - and my aunts and uncles raising glasses to 'absent friends' each Christmas. The power of language - huh.
Your comment is so personal, Joshua. It brings home the tragic consequences of money, power and manipulation. This is why story is so powerful. It awakens people. So imagine a world where AI becomes the only storyteller in our world, a software powered by the likes of Musk and Zuckerberg. People who are disconnected from their feeling nature.
There is a new article in the NY Times which covers some of the areas we touch on here - "over the next decade, powerful A.I. will generate trillions of dollars in economic value and tilt the balance of political and military power toward the nations that control it"
"If we’re in denial — or if we’re simply not paying attention — we could lose the chance to shape this technology when it matters most."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/14/technology/why-im-feeling-the-agi.html?unlocked_article_code=1.304.TIEy.SmNhKYO4e9c7&smid=url-share
We're in big trouble. The AI industry is constantly pushing it's "latest and greatest" with all the (considerable) force it can muster. Congress has already been caught with it's pants down, even before the rise of AI, just dealing with InYourFaceBook and Google selling its "users" up the river to the highest bidder.
I have a really bad feeling the AGI integration won't go smoothly - by design. The only ethic they follow is maximum profitability, to the exclusion of all else.
Let's face it, politicians aren't tech savvy, and won't likely become so anytime in the near future. They can barely understand what going on. And the only people "advising" them are the likes of Altman and Theil.
This is the unfortunate side "The only ethic they follow is maximum profitability". Even Ilya Sutskeyver with his Safe superintelligence will need a way to significantly repay the billions of investments.
Hence, we need to be more involved as a society to have this conversation.
Unfortunately, getting society at large involved is an undertaking comparable to pulling teeth - from a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
A big, part of it, indeed most of it, is that the capital/management/leisure class keeps us all hopping with work. Overload by design keeps us all "in line".
Ha - good analogy and mainly true. As soon as the jobs start to go then society will start to care!
It will be a real mess when that happens.
This is an excellent synopsis of the pivotal moment humanity currently faces. Those who submit to life within a digital mind-scape may find themselves trapped in a place where only total collapse of the controlling technology will bring them back to a place where they can reconnect with a higher plane of consciousness. It will require the return of the ancient rishis to bring that knowledge back. To once again whisper in the ears of those who will listen and reawaken that Divine spark. For some this may take thousands of years.
I think we're already trapped in it. We might not be around in a thousand years. Indeed, the way we're going, we might not be around in another hundred.
It’s always of our own making. In referring to the millions of years I am referring more to cosmic memory than human evolution out of which humans emerged.
Ah, the metaphysical. I get it.
It’s certainly true that we’ve been trapped for millions of years, but in more recent times many have begun to awaken. AI technology poses a threat to this awakening.
Yes it certainly does. Then again, it is just possible it may accelerate it as people strive for meaning. There is always a narrow corridor of hope.
In that darkness drives us toward the Light, yes!
I was referring to the trap of our own making. That's only been around for a few thousand years. The trap you're referring to really isn't really a trap, it's just Mother Nature. We lived the same way all the other beasts do out in the wild.
A couple key issues that a liberal democracy needs to account for relate to the very real threat of excessive deference to AIs and algorithms.
If AI generated policies are promoted by AI systems to AI decision-making processes. What political role do humans even serve in such a society?
If even creative industries are overwhelmed by low-quality AI-generated art/music/movies/etc. getting promoted by AI algorithms that boost engagement. Will hobbies truly turn into art movements?
I think a return to the physical world as the theatre where culture happens, and rebuilding the public infrastructure for it is going to be a necessary part of the solution. A massive cultural shift needs to happen too though, and I'm crossing my fingers that it happens soon.
Good questions Amr. The Chief People Officer at OpenAI indicates a massive cultural shift and she thinks a return to traditional arts, theatre, museums, etc. I see this already where I live, the 'culture' buildings are thriving. My dystopian view is that 15 / 20% of the population will move to the traditional areas and seek out intellectual pursuits, and the remaining 80% or so will attend gladiator style events and scream at each other on X!
I do see similar trends around my city as well. I think your view is fairly accurate. My worry is what happens when the 80% gets tired of the next level of brainrot spectacle and tries to live more offline.
A big barrier for entry into traditional arts is the time/cost investment required. If 80% of society is too broke or working too many jobs to make ends meet, we might create a resentful underclass that despises the whole system. It's why I doubt the optimism of OpenAI's CPO.
Good point about hobbies turning into art movements. In a best-case scenario, this will happen, and will act as a psychological stabiliser in a chaotic time. But not only that, the creative process is a way for humans to tap directly into 'Source', which is their birthright, and for which connection to the land (Mother Earth) is essential for a vital life.
The Industrial revolution threw people off the land and forced them into soul-destroying and dangerous jobs in the mines and mills, broke up rural communities, and dispossessed them from their indigenous roots. We (Europeans) also once lived 'indigenously' (speaking as a Celt of both Scottish & Welsh descent). It looks like AGI will be the final act of violence against people's right to self-determination, to living a life worthy of being the humans we truly are. The creative arts (bottom up movements) are the only way; top-down regulation will never work - too many vested interests and the current trend of all power to Big-Tech shows no signs of changing with powerless (bought) politicians in place.
"For AGI I use the term defined by OpenAI in its mission statement:
“…by which we mean highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work.”"
Nice definition; scary definition too. Not sure who decides what is "economically valuable" work; and what their working definition of it is. I suspect the combined might of capitalism+technology will see humans as 'economic units' and deal with them accordingly.
The trouble is those who push these technologies don't seem to even wonder why self-check-outs in the (our local) supermarket are largely unused, and people (including myself) queue because we prefer interaction with a human, which in Portugal at least is an important aspect of everyday life. I sometimes practice trying to crack a joke with the check-out person - most of them go down like a lead-balloon. Intercultural humour translation is a tricky business.
If something like The Post-Office Scandal can happen, and take 10 years for some kind of justice to be delivered, the mind boggles at what bureaucratic-AGI can achieve/destroy, even if there are in theory avenues of redress. Thanks again for another greatly insightful post on 'the issue of our time' {apart from the money-as-debt+interest system, that is :) }
Wow. There's so much to unpack here, I'll have to share my reactions with more than one comment. Stay tuned...