> the closer the expertise you spent your whole life building is to being worthless.
Perhaps it is time for life to be considered intrinsically valuable, instead of being "worthy" only based on output or capability. Disability, animal and environmental advocates have been fighting for this for a long time. Not too long ago women and minorities were in the same boat. Even now, there are many advocating and fighting for a return to the dark old days.
> Along with all the rest of what humans find meaningful and fulfilling.
Some humans. Many are content to enjoy simply existing, and the beauty of life and the universe around us. Just like many non-scientists today enjoy and benefit from the work of scientists, tomorrow too many will enjoy learning from, and applying the coming advancements and leaps in many fields.
And those of a scientist or other research-type mindset? No doubt they will contribute meaningfully by studying the frontier, noting what remains unanswered, and then advancing the frontier, just like researchers do today; just because scientists in the past solved many questions doesn't mean that there aren't any questions to answer today.
IMHO, AI means that the frontier expands faster, not that it is obliterated. Even AI cannot overcome the laws and limitations of physics/universe: even Dyson spheres only capture the energy of one star, thus setting a limit on the amount of compute, and thereby a limit on intelligence. And we are a loooong way from a Dyson sphere.
PS: I think you're being unfairly downvoted. Your question is not invalid and deserves responses, not downvotes.
> These all are valid, noble points I also used to brood about while being young and financially supported by my parents.
Ah, the proverbial silver spoon. Sadly, I never had that luxury. If you look through my comments, you'll notice I'm more at the get-off-my-lawn point.
Also, what happened? Real world wear you down and turn you cynical? It is possible to be hopeful and cynical at the same time. This tech is something new we're seeing: the future is as yet unwritten. r/LocalLLaMa works well, so there's hope even if corporate ai goes kaput.
My generation has been lucky to see a few new things, though we certainly live in interesting times. Moon Landings. Berlin Wall fall. Moore's Law. EU (I have the old coinage to serve as a reminder). Space Shuttles. China and India integrating with the world. Cellphones. The Internet. Digital Photos. Linux. Solar. 3D-printing. Smartphones. Tablets. Bitcoin. EVs. Mars rovers. Asteroid visits. Internet from space. FTTH. MRNA. Gene Therapy. MRI. Ultrasound. Wi-Fi. Mesh Wi-Fi. Reusable Rockets. Cubesats. Selfies from space. Drones. LoRa/LoraWAN. Maglev HSR. And now AI, real AI. Chinese-like Whale Language.
There's hope for the future yet. You can help make it happen right. But only if you leave the cynicism at the door. Can't give up - it's our kids' futures at stake.
> wish I could share your optimism, but no recent event in the world affairs can help with that for me.
What about Ukraine holding Russia back, and now looks like it might actually win? What about the most recent additions to NATO. Hungary's regime change? Canada's save? EU's pivot to arming itself, and quickly?
Perhaps it is time for life to be considered intrinsically valuable, instead of being "worthy" only based on output or capability. Disability, animal and environmental advocates have been fighting for this for a long time. Not too long ago women and minorities were in the same boat. Even now, there are many advocating and fighting for a return to the dark old days.
> Along with all the rest of what humans find meaningful and fulfilling.
Some humans. Many are content to enjoy simply existing, and the beauty of life and the universe around us. Just like many non-scientists today enjoy and benefit from the work of scientists, tomorrow too many will enjoy learning from, and applying the coming advancements and leaps in many fields.
And those of a scientist or other research-type mindset? No doubt they will contribute meaningfully by studying the frontier, noting what remains unanswered, and then advancing the frontier, just like researchers do today; just because scientists in the past solved many questions doesn't mean that there aren't any questions to answer today.
IMHO, AI means that the frontier expands faster, not that it is obliterated. Even AI cannot overcome the laws and limitations of physics/universe: even Dyson spheres only capture the energy of one star, thus setting a limit on the amount of compute, and thereby a limit on intelligence. And we are a loooong way from a Dyson sphere.
PS: I think you're being unfairly downvoted. Your question is not invalid and deserves responses, not downvotes.