In a depressing sign of the times, my company has made the adoption of artificial intelligence a strategic priority. In corporate language, they want to "build an AI-enabled workforce and implement AI across the value chain". Whatever that means. In practical terms, the most immediate impact is that they have made completing some online courses in artificial intelligence mandatory for all employees. What do I think about all this? Frankly, I think it's a load of horsesh*t. I don't like AI for 3 reasons - the elimination of many white collar jobs, an increase in artificial intelligence coming at the cost of a decrease in human intelligence, and the very real threat posed by the singularity (when computers take over the world inevitably resulting in human extinction). I have never used ChatGPT, Siri or Alexa, I don't like it when AI autocorrects my spelling or grammar mistakes, and I don't even like looking at the AI Overview that appears now when I google something. I'm sure AI is affecting me in all kinds of ways that I don't care to think about - like the ads that appear on the websites I browse or the TV I watch, or the content of media that I consume. I certainly don't use it in my job - and I don't see any scenario where I would use it. However I can very easily see a scenario where AI could completely take over what I do in my job. And that is scary. And I also don't find it coincidental that I was chatting with an ex-colleague of mine the other day, and he was saying that his company is also adopting a similar strategy when it comes to AI. I fear this is a coordinated effort across different biotech/pharma companies, agreed upon at some clandestine meeting between the various CEOs. And it's going to irrevocably change, and shrink, the workforce. The future is bleak. If I had children of my own, I think I would actively encourage them to pursue a blue collar profession - something that is beyond the reach of AI.
