As I type this, another computer is working by itself, using a document created by Cambigo, to build a complete proof of concept application. It is not perfect, but I’m taking a lot of notes on what I can integrate into Cambigo to make it perform better. Even with the imperfections, it is amazing to watch a prototype application being built based off a document I created by only thinking about what I need the solution to do, and the workflow to support it.

Also, as I type this, I’m switching back and forth between an AI roadmap document I just downloaded from Senator Mark Kelly (AZ) and started reading it. The press release states, “Kelly’s proposal provides recommendations on how to…secure the future of workers in the AI economy, build infrastructure for responsible AI growth, and ensure public trust in AI.”

I’ve been focusing on building tools that bring people together, to work as a team, to think with their own minds, in a human society, part of a tangible world. As quickly as we are moving to adopt AI, and have it take over aspects of the workforce, I’m clinging to the need for people to invest in the education and experiences to continue the growth and stewardship of society - outside of AI. For all the retraining and education that we will be placing into AI use and implementation, we should continue supporting independent learning, competence and understanding of all the concepts that may be replaced by it. Regardless of the support AI brings to the workplace, it is built upon the knowledge of the workforce in each domain. What do I mean?

As my ChatGPT helper describes it:

• Human experts contribute their specialized knowledge.
• That knowledge informs and trains AI systems.
• AI applies this knowledge to generate responses.
• Experts then validate and refine the output, feeding back into the cycle.
• The result is joint advancement, where both expert knowledge and AI evolve together.

In my words:

People are at the beginning and the end of AI. Dependence upon it means that we risk breaking the beginning.

If we abandon and limit future education, specifically post-secondary education, it all stops. It is THE fuel for the fire, as well as the borders that keep it from burning down the forest.

If AI is our means and method of education, and our primary approach to solving problems, it is merely one fire that will eventually fade, unless it spreads out of control, of course. Imagine if AI took over in the 1800’s when surely many believed they knew everything and had it all figured out. How useful would that model be but to understand a vestige of human’s past?

I’ve stated elsewhere that I’m very concerned with what companies will do once AI improves, and whether most will lose access in the future due to unchecked competitiveness and greed. This is a huge risk to every person, government and company that doesn’t own it. As I build my own software, I’m thinking about how it can be used with and without AI to accomplish similar goals. AI can offer a boost, but it isn’t the basis for laying out a future path that hasn’t been explored or understood. I am building tools to help people do that together and leaving a seat for AI to support that work under direction of a team.

In uncharted situations, Artificial Intelligence will guess. It will often be wrong, and it will be dismissed by calling it a hallucination. In some domains, we can’t afford to make these mistakes. If you aren’t familiar with graduate level education, this is of particular importance to academic research, where someone may spend the rest of their lives refining and contributing knowledge for EVERYONE on a gap in their chosen field.

As much as I am excited by the fire of AI, I just cannot overcome the worry of losing the very fuel that got it here. Even the dropouts that have advanced without further education did so on the shoulders of others — as do we all.