Artificial Intelligence and Civilization

Have you ever noticed how quickly our world has changed with technology? One day we were there talking to each other on Nokia, the next day we were all posting to Instagram and company. And the next big change might just be AI, or Artificial Intelligence.

The question is, should we be happy that AI is coming into our lives, or look at it with suspicion from across the room?

AI is definitely the ideal helper when it comes to chatting and sharing interesting things. It can retain a mountain of information and find the one we need in a matter of moments. Generative AI can now even read and digest it for us. This is why in the book "The Amazing Journey of Reason," written by MrCall co-founder Mario, we find the idea that "human society is increasingly turning into a network of brains connected by digital synapses." We as a species as a whole are becoming smarter because we are getting better at saving track of what we know and sharing it, just as neurons do in our brains, and proteins do in our cells.

But there is a problem - AI does not understand human beings intimately. It doesn't understand, for example, our jokes, our dreams, or why so many people love kitten videos (we don't understand that either...). That's why we need to treat AI as a team project: to involve thinkers, artists, and emotional people — not just technicians — to make sure AI doesn't become a buzzkill. Otherwise, AI could become like an autoimmune disease that mistakenly attacks the entity that produced it and was designed to protect. This metaphor serves as a reminder to align AI's capabilities with humanity's well-being rather than its potential harm.

Let's say AI should be like our right arm, not the other way around. Humans should not be the ones "training" the algorithms with "likes" and "dislikes" to teach them which image sells the most (it's kittens at the end anyway).

Otherwise we risk ending up chatting with bots instead of other humans. AI is like any other powerful tool — to be handled with care.

So what is the situation? It is really up to us to decide — AI is like a river. Properly channeled, rivers have nurtured civilizations, empowered communities and created pathways to unexplored knowledge. But if left unchecked, rivers can flood and irreparably damage the very city they made great.

It should be in our hands, and not just in the invisible hands of the market, to guide the development of such powerful technologies. Nuclear power has brought prosperity where it has been well used, but disasters where it has been misused. And missed wealth where it has not been rejected...