There is one truth that has been guiding me for a long time. When I lose clarity, it becomes a clear lens showing me my true north: decisions, actions or thoughts based on fear cannot bring forth the right outcome, no matter the circumstances.
The debate around AI is lagging behind our current reality. AI is going nowhere, yet some people still believe they can resist it or put up a fight to stop its influence. Just this morning I read a comment on a podcast that said, “I have been avoiding AI like the plague.” And there is the problem. Resistance is futile.
Would it have helped anyone if horse breeders had refused to buy cars when humans first started building them? Would it have gotten us anywhere to refuse getting a cell phone once they became readily available?
Currently, AI provides two things: extra profit and additional time. I have not yet met a business person who will say no to a higher profit margin, no matter how many workers suffer. They will find a way to justify the lay-offs. Does that make them bad people? I do not know. What I do know is that the wave is already rising, and I do not think the workforce can stop it from hitting the safe shores of their predictable monthly income, washing away what they once thought could only be threatened by ordinary risks like ill health or a fall-out with the boss.
Additional time is AI’s kinder offering to humanity. Those who have not spent energy resisting its benefits have already saved time — even if only by getting quicker answers than surfing the web used to provide. Here we begin to get our first inkling of what becomes possible if we decide not to cower in fear of AI destroying the world, killing us off, or taking our jobs. We can take responsibility for a life lived in a new technological era.
People who used to ride only horses had to master the skill of driving a car. People who had secretaries who took instructions in shorthand had to figure out how a laptop works. We have a baby step available to us: we can make use of the extra time AI places in our daily schedules. What we do with that extra time is up to us. Whether we rest more, feel less stressed, or get more done, most people will find a good use for it.
Extra time on our hands does not pay the bills, however, if we have lost a job because AI could do it better or faster, or because our skillset is no longer required — no matter how long we studied or how many years we spent building a reputation and experience.
Enter uncertainty, followed closely by fear. As humans we are already showing remarkable resilience. Those who can and feel so inclined — mostly the younger generation, but not exclusively — are already taking part in the frenzied learning around AI tools. YouTube has changed forever; almost everything is now AI-generated or at least AI-assisted. Already one can see where people use AI with integrity and where they use it poorly, reflecting their own lack of judgment or insight. There will always be people who cannot help but abuse a new toy. Many of us, though, do not feel like jumping into the ocean where everyone is desperately trying to find their way in the AI soup of possibilities, learning new skills that become outdated within a few weeks.
Who do we turn to? Pray? Have faith? Resist and hope we outlive the crisis? Make plans we are not sure will help us at all?
The starting point for me remains the same: removing fear from our thinking and decision-making space, and then looking at the new landscape from a clean-slate perspective. For most of us this may feel good for two minutes. Then we realise that the crayon in the hand of the clear-minded version of ourselves has nothing to write down. There is no plan that does not seem doomed to failure. The mind begins to spin, and soon we find ourselves back in the fear corner. This is completely understandable. It is not easy to think one’s way out of what faces humanity at this point.
Yes, there will eventually be universal abundant income for all — this seems to be the aim of those building AI, who now refer to it as super intelligence. It is also the current wisdom of the spiritual community that we are moving into an era of abundance where AI does not turn on us because we have taught it that we are worth keeping around. But that universal income is still some years away, and people are losing their jobs every single day, with many skills becoming obsolete.
I believe the answer lies within each of us. We are all somehow guided from deep within, regardless of belief system, religion, or lack thereof. Something inside holds the reins and knows a way out — a way out that is specific to you. My inner solution will not be the same as yours, which is why each of us will have to go deep within to find our own inner wisdom and personal solution.
I will soon be sending out information on a short workshop that assists people to tap into their deep inner knowledge through hypnosis in a comfortable group setting. There your own Inner Architect can come up with a workable solution. Your mind is a magnificent thing. It already knows how to move through the coming wave. And if you let it, it will provide you with the surfboard and the wetsuit needed to come out on top as you ride the wave of change.