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Humanity is at a crossroads: to AI or not to AI.
Advancements in AI are transforming our world and posing unprecedented challenges, such as massive job displacement. In my undergraduate class on AI, I ask my students: “If one day work becomes optional, how many of you would still choose to work?” The response is typically split between half of the class choosing to work and the other half choosing a different path. In the process, there are often amusing exchanges of looks that seem to ask “What would you do with your time if you don’t work?” or “Don’t you have better things to do with your life?”
This divergence highlights the pivotal nature of the shift we are about to face. AI making human work optional can be a tremendous opportunity for humans to be liberated from work and focus on personal development, and it may also leave many struggling to find meaning and self-worth. Which scenario becomes our future reality depends on our collective values and choices.
Historically, work has been both a necessity and a cornerstone that many rely on for identity, self-worth and social connections. The absence of work leaves a great void that is not easily filled. This void is not just financial, but also emotional and social. A good example is the opioid crisis, which hit the Rust Belt disproportionately hard because it had been devastated by economic decline and job loss associated with the automation of manufacturing jobs. The automation tsunami is now coming after white-collar workers.
If we don’t want history to repeat itself, we need to reconsider our culture and core values. Today’s productivity-driven culture — one that emphasizes efficiency, goal achievements and measurable outcomes — may not serve us well in the coming shift. In such a culture, individual value is often tied to productivity. Individuals who fail to produce measurable outcomes may struggle to feel valued or worthy. Self-worth based on productivity is like a sandcastle built on the beach; it dissipates as soon as productivity goes away.
This productivity-driven culture is a fertile ground for competition. Fierce competition for limited resources and upward-mobility opportunities ultimately leads to involution, when individuals expend increasing efforts without substantial progress. As AI continues to take over work, human workers will feel compelled to work harder to outrun both AI and their peers. Excessive competitive pressure can turn humans into “utility-maximizing machines” who obsess with maximizing productivity and one’s own utility at the cost of other things. These other things — authenticity, care, courage, fairness, kindness, justice, love and social responsibility — are essential to both individual well-being and the well-being of humanity as a whole.
