Will AI replace us?

Recently, ChatGPT has been frequently mentioned as just the tip of the iceberg in Web 3.0. Its significant impact is not unfounded as it challenges the profession with the highest entry barrier in the past 100 years. Therefore, we can soon see in the news that people are using ChatGPT to take the most challenging knowledge-based exams.

Our society is constructed with multiple barriers for protection. For example, if you want to become a doctor or lawyer, you must excel in a highly competitive education system, study longer university courses than other subjects, intern for a few years, and even after becoming licensed, you must still follow strict regulations. If you want to practice on your own, you must work hard for several years in large institutions, save enough reserves, and then establish your own circle and build a reputation. If you're lucky, you may stand out among the talented ones.

Behind all of this, "knowledge" has become the basic threshold for many industries. Some may assume that the biggest advantage of lawyers is their eloquence, but after attending several court hearings, it becomes clear that this is not always the case. Similarly, some may believe that the most important quality of doctors is a parental heart, but real-life examples demonstrate that this is a naive idea.

There is another type of "knowledge" that may not be directly related to the task at hand, but has become a threshold for employment: auxiliary skills. Auxiliary skills include language proficiency, proficiency in using Excel, programming languages, typing speed, and even certificates. People in high positions may not necessarily have stable emotions, high analytical skills, or great empathy, but their auxiliary skills are always full. The world is full of excellent young people with great ideas who do not have the resources to build a ladder to reach the threshold, and there are also young masters and misses who are annoying but cannot be dealt with because their families are resource-rich even before birth.

How many professions now rely on "intelligence" for protection?

After the advent of artificial intelligence, those whose core values are based on "intelligence" and "assisting intelligence" will inevitably decline. Instead, the qualities that should have been core values will become values that artificial intelligence cannot eradicate.

For example, the core of the education system was originally to teach children the correct values, teach them to question, logically analyze things, effectively use emotions for creativity, and provide education without discrimination to train the future masters of society. However, for the past half-century, the nature of education has been completely changed because most professions require "intelligence" and "skills," especially in Asian education. We have witnessed the hypocrisy of education, which encourages independent thinking and innovation on the one hand, but on the other hand, parents are asked to buy thick homework books and encourage children to learn at least one musical instrument and have at least one hobby related to sports. The children of families with resources are busy with their time, how can they have time to daydream and explore in a dreamy and imaginative space?

In contrast, children from families without resources seem to be able to wander endlessly in thoughts, but they do not have the resources to guide them. Intelligence seems to be a luxury item, so their imagination and creativity should be used where they can catch them. If at this time, the peers they can contact are people who will take risks for short-term benefits, then the smarter and more talented the child is, the higher the chance of going astray.

Artificial intelligence like ChatGPT can directly reduce the threshold of acquiring knowledge. In simpler terms, the intellectual and skillful treasures we once highly valued are no longer as precious. These things, like all hardware, have an expiration date. Just like the food pyramid we used to learn, these knowledge and sciences were once considered "truths" by people of a certain era, but science is like that. After repeated clinical trials and verifications, the "truth" itself may not be a tangible concept. However, artificial intelligence can continuously learn and find the closest position to the "truth".

Where is our value?

First of all, we must recognize that our own value has nothing to do with intelligence or skills, so don't fall into the trap of defining ourselves based on these hardware.

What are our core values?

• Some educators are especially empathic, likely because they went through a difficult learning process in their childhood. Through their experiences, they know where the blind spots in education are, making them excellent teachers. When facing rebellious and angry students, their responses vary, and they won't mechanically spout clichés. Empathy is their greatest core value. When one truly understands another person, it can have the greatest impact on education.
  

• I have seen some salespeople with high psychological qualities and emotional intelligence. Their core value lies in stable emotions and a strong inner self. Emotional stability is crucial in the workplace. They always show humility, even when refusing someone, and can respond with dignity without losing their position. They have good interpersonal relationships, and people are willing to help them. When people establish mutual trust, "sales" becomes invisible, and the best things are paired with the best owners.
  

• I have encountered some people who are excellent at using and expressing their emotions. Their creativity is astonishing. Many people do not know how to observe their own emotions, let alone express them. Emotions are actually the source of all creativity and inspiration, and a powerful and breakthrough force. When emotions are transformed into works of art/performance, they can truly penetrate the hearts of others. Their power is so great that they can still influence others' lives, even after the person is gone.
  

• The core values of investing include a sensitive touch to the market, forward-thinking ideas, the courage to believe in one's intuition, thoughtful creativity, and understanding of human nature, among other things. Luck also plays a significant role, so artificial intelligence cannot be fully involved in investing.

There are many more core values that cannot be listed one by one, but as you understand, our most fundamental values lie in the intangible things. It is because we can feel them, and our feelings allow us to be flexible and have the potential for breakthroughs/evolution in many things. This is something that artificial intelligence lacks.

Industries that AI Can Easily Replace

According to the chart above, industries that heavily rely on knowledge and skills are likely to become sunset industries:

• Operators in production machinery chains

• Programmers

• Accounting clerks

• Cashiers

• Warehouse managers

Industries that are difficult to replace with AI

Industries that require high reliance on perception, emotional management, and social skills are likely to be the most promising industries in the future:

• Spiritual Workers

• Mental health

• Healthy living

• Entertainment creation

• Innovative research

With the popularization of artificial intelligence, the most profitable industry at this stage is undoubtedly cybercrime and fraud.

The popularization of artificial intelligence has made all knowledge cheaper than before. In the past, to commit crimes on the internet, one needed to have one of the following elements: either a programming expert who can create a website that seems legitimate but is actually fraudulent, or advanced hacking skills to attack large institutions or individuals for profit, or purchase powerful virus software to obtain data from infected targets for evil purposes, and so on.

With learning artificial intelligence, writing a virus program is no longer a complicated thing. Even combining the virus software itself with artificial intelligence is not a child's play that can be solved by resetting a server as depicted in the movie "The Net". It is definitely a crisis that can destroy most centralized systems. It is human nature to gain without effort, and with the support of artificial intelligence, coupled with the ability to manipulate human nature and language tricks, and the difficulty of prosecuting fraudsters, it is simply the golden age of cybercrime and fraud.

Of course, there are many reasons for crime, and we can certainly make many good suggestions to reduce the crime rate. However, with the decrease in knowledge and technology costs for cybercrime, the benefits seem to outweigh the risks of being caught. In addition to our legal system seeming to be lenient towards online scammers, our society's general values of "success" are also the main culprits.

There are two major directions we can take to fundamentally solve the problem of crime:

1. Build the Earth into a utopia and minimize the incentives for crime:

We need to evolve from a society that highly values knowledge and skills to one that values physical, mental, and spiritual health. In addition to a massive overhaul of the education system, we need the awakening of the entire human society. This awakening includes adjusting laws, establishing and abiding by a set of international laws for the survival of humanity by putting aside national interests, and fulfilling the values and freedom of each individual. Before these changes can happen, humans will inevitably suspect, attack, and compete for more resources. At the same time, we are also facing increasingly severe weather and the serious aging of the population.

It is imaginable that this process will require such catastrophic impact and time.

2. Completely Decentralized, Minimizing Crime Opportunities:

Although this idea may seem so far-fetched now, I firmly believe that the era of large-scale decentralization is inevitable. The reason is that in an age where the cost of crime is so low, centralized systems are bound to be vulnerable to attack; the most obvious target being banks. Imagine, the defense cost of banks will inevitably increase and due to the rise in crime rates, government agencies will inevitably increase their regulation of banks, reducing the ability of ordinary citizens to circulate their own wealth.

In simpler terms, you don't have absolute power over your money. We ordinary folks may also find that in recent years, it's become increasingly difficult to move large amounts of money. Even if the money is yours, you don't have the freedom to move it or use it as you wish, and you have to go through a lot of procedures just to buy a more expensive car.

These centralized banking systems are full of restrictions and have been protected like a natural barrier because virtual currencies were not recognized and had no collateral. However, now virtual currencies are gradually becoming more popular, and both Bitcoin and Ethereum have added collateral. Ethereum also supports smart contracts, and you will inevitably be the only owner of your virtual currency (unless you tell someone else your account password), and no one can lock your account or arbitrarily charge you fees, nor can anyone use hacking techniques to steal your money.

Therefore, funds will inevitably flow into virtual currencies. Where funds flow, our steps will inevitably follow, but that's another story.