Source: https://open.substack.com/pub/braininvest0/p/ai-agents-and-capitalism-reimagining

Title - Goethe

A lot of this article is about the economic impacts of AI agents on the labour market. While interesting (and anxiety inducing), what I am more interested in at the moment is the antidote to this outcome. Not an antidote in a preventative sense - there is nothing I can currently do to steer this ship - but rather personal antidotes to prepare for whatever may come. Every observation below is notable in its own right, regardless of the progression of advanced AI systems.

AI agents accelerating a worrying trend

The author notes that we are witnessing an atrophy of our critical thinking skills and "valuing obedience over innovation". I broadly agree with this - I think its a continuation of the social media/cell phone trend of the 2010s, where we think less and blindly consume more. With ever-more capable AI:

the crucial skills in this world of accelerated automation will no longer be faithful execution or even efficient management, but critical thinking capable of transcending established models and creativity allowing exploration of virgin conceptual territories — these properly human faculties that enable navigation beyond predefined frameworks that even the most sophisticated AI can only reproduce or extrapolate, never truly invent ex nihilo.

The salient paradox that these AI systems are likely to accelerate:

Yet — and here the paradox becomes tragic — these very skills that could save humanity from professional obsolescence are becoming scarcer as our civilization advances [...] we observe the erosion of the very faculties that could constitute our last bulwark against the massive obsolescence of human labor.

New economic & social models

I really loved this section and there is a lot more in the article than I will cover here. The author discusses how do humans experience value if not through vocation (a concept I really struggle with). They also discuss alignment, where the goal is "to keep these prodigious technologies in service of human flourishing — not the reverse." There is also an argument about preserving a capitalist society to encourage innovation, again something I agree with in principle[1].

An interesting perspective on aligning society much like the ancient Greeks[2]

here true social value resided in thought, philosophy, and civic participation rather than in repetitive productive tasks

This feels like a description of a utopia I could align with. Its just hard to see it as a reality...for now, at least.

Summary

Work vigorously to improve/exercise critical and deep philosophical thinking. Most wont.

Footnotes

1. If by capitalist we also include social mobility - ability to move up to (and fall from) the top economic echelons through innovation, perseverance (and some luck). This is my biggest worry - an "untouchable" class at the top. So long as their status is somewhat vulnerable (ie. never guaranteed), I am on board.
2. I don't know enough about ancient Greece, but I wonder how representative this framing of societal values is. History is often written by those who weren't necessarily representative of broader society.