My Mixed Feelings About AI
I find myself torn when it comes to artificial intelligence. On one hand, I’m genuinely amazed by its possibilities; on the other, I’m deeply concerned about its implications. I’ll admit I’m perhaps more fascinated than worried, which sometimes makes me wonder if I should be more cautious.
Why I’m Concerned
My worries stem largely from the perspective of thinkers like Aurélien Barrau, a French astrophysicist, poet, and environmental activist whose work I deeply respect. He argues that without a fundamental shift in our philosophy of living, our current climate and ecological crisis will only worsen. As long as we prioritize capitalist growth over meaningful human relationships and planetary health, technology—including AI—becomes part of the problem rather than the solution.
Barrau identifies several key concerns that resonate with me:
Geopolitical and military risks: AI could encourage us to delegate critical decisions to machines, especially when speed seems more important than wisdom.
Techno-solutionism: The dangerous belief that technology alone can solve all our problems, when what we really need is to fundamentally rethink our values and way of life.
Social alienation: The potential for AI to isolate us further from genuine human connection and community.
As Barrau puts it: “We’ve built a system where prioritizing life over money appears extreme.” His perspective really captures something profound about our current predicament.
Why I’m Still Fascinated
Despite these concerns, I can’t help but be impressed by AI’s rapid progress. Critics who claimed certain capabilities were impossible have been proven wrong time and again.
I’ve been experimenting with AI as a creative assistant in several areas:
Music: Tools like Suno AI let me generate songs that, while perhaps not professional-quality, are genuinely impressive for someone without formal musical training. I’ll even confess I’ve created a few songs glorifying myself—guilty as charged!
Writing: I’m working on several fantasy and fiction projects that involve extensive worldbuilding—creating detailed magic systems, languages, currencies, characters, and entire civilizations. This process used to take forever, but AI assistance has dramatically accelerated my workflow while still letting me maintain creative control.
Programming: AI excels at repetitive, pattern-based tasks. For instance, it’s revolutionized how I handle database seeding—no more lorem ipsum! I can describe a data model and get realistic test data generated automatically. It’s also made documentation much easier for someone whose native language isn’t English, and I use it to create technical cheat sheets for tools I use occasionally but can’t memorize.
Finding Balance
I don’t want AI to do everything for me—I see myself more as a conductor, guiding and infusing soul into the building blocks that AI helps generate. My hope, perhaps utopian, is that AI can truly serve all of humanity while addressing the ecological concerns that make its development sustainable.
The challenge isn’t the technology itself, but ensuring we develop and deploy it in ways that enhance rather than diminish our humanity and our planet’s health.