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I remember years ago when I was a junior designer, absorbing as much design content and productivity advice possible, I heard an interview with Krissy Tillman. She spoke about the intense imposter syndrome she experienced at the beginning of her time at Slack as Head of Global Experience. As a black woman in design, Tillman was most definitely not a part of the dominant culture at Slack, or any tech company really. She was constantly wondering why she felt like she had to work so much harder than the men she worked with, why she couldn't keep it all running smoothly while still having time for friends and family - or herself - but they could. Then she learned that they all hired helpers - assistants, nannies, cooks, cleaners, etc - and that they were literally buying more time. She had 24 hours in a day, they effectively had 36+.
Attention is our most prized commodity, and time is our great equalizer. Members of higher socioeconomic classes are afforded more freedom and flexibility with where they can direct their attention and how they spend their time. Throughout history, this freedom of flexibility has been the great differentiator between societal classes.
My hypothesis?
AI personal assistants can help bridge the wealth gap. How? Through putting the power of time creation in the hands of anyone with a smart phone and internet access.
Technology should be improving our lives, not burdening us with the responsibility to continuously prove and improve our value to a cabal who compare us against an ever-moving goal post.
My vision of the future is not one where 99.9% of the world's population most closely experiences a life akin to Sisyphus and his boulder.
The dream
Imagine how rich, innovative, colourful, diverse, and creative the world could be if everyone had similar amounts of time for exploration, play and discovery. Some of the greatest minds in our history were allowed to evolve because of the support of generous patrons.
Right now, the majority of the world's population still spends most of their free time doing life admin work, scrambling to make ends meet, and trying to set up systems to remind them of the myriad of things we now have to take into consideration compared to even 10 years ago. Just search for "poverty memes" and you'll understand how pervasive it is, and how nihilistic or full of existential despair we've all become thanks to the absence of hope for an easier, less grind-oriented future.
AI has the potential to unlock a huge reservoir of untapped knowledge that's just sitting in over-worked and over-stressed people's minds - if used to ethically and intentionally do so. This could be an equalizing revolution, one of sorts and on a scale we've never seen before.
Ways AI can save time and create more time
Tailored educational content and programs
Education is a hugely impacted area when it comes to the wealth gap and the potential of AI - our current educational system only further reinforces and cements the differences between socioeconomic populations, instead of levelling the playing field as we'd hope it would.
Imagine every child or person having a personal tutor in the palm of their hands, especially the benefit afforded to those minds who don't fit the most popular or on-trend learning style du jour (cough cough, standardized testing is evil).Management of physical health
A close family member of mine lost an organ because of the neglect of his paediatrician not following up on abnormal test results from when he was a child. Human error in healthcare and medical contexts have caused unmeasurable trauma and drain on society through loss of life and loss of financial freedom
Costa Rica's healthcare system has been lauded around the world for focusing on preventative, community-oriented care - think about how burdened the current medical systems are in North America and the UK due to the lack of importance put on physical activity and nutrition. AI personal trainers, custom-generated nutrition plans linked to blood test results and other fitness measures, indirect benefits exposed thanks to deeper data analysis by AI are all ways this technology could help us manage our physical health more easily.Management of mental health
Not just through saving time, but also through the development of AI therapists (as a huge mental health proponent, I am very much so on the fence/slightly critical side of AI therapists but also recognize the value they could potentially provide) or coaches. I've personally used the ChatGPT voice feature to test out how it could help me anchor myself during an anxiety attack - and it wasn't half bad actually.Decision-making assistance
Our best ideas never come from a vacuum. Research shows the more modalities you process information with, the more deeply you consolidate it within your memory, which affords us the ability to think more divergently on that topic. Speak your ideas out loud to an AI agent tailored to encourage divergent thinking and who has persistent memory of other areas you're interested in and previous conversations and you'll see just how quickly you're able to start coming up with way more unique and interesting connections and ideas.
I'm currently beta testing New Computer's Dot, and I've directly experienced the difference an AI assistant with persistent memory and the ability to initiate a conversation with you can make in your thinking process.
The Big "But"
These kinds of dreams and utopias always come with a huge caveat, a massive "if". AI will only aid in closing the wealth gap if it is made affordable and accessible.
We're not faced with just the wealth gap, but also the digital divide - those with access to new technology and those without - in this situation.
This time-filled future will never come about if AI, like a lot of new technology throughout history, ends up only being accessible to the rich elite for a large part of its initial development. In that case, it would only work to further strengthen the divide.
Right now, these AI applications need substantial processing power to run the advanced models we'd need in order to implement these capabilities and services at a truly affordable price.
AI Pricing
I would like to see an income-based, sliding scale approach to AI service pricing. This concept is already seen in service offerings that have high potential impact on impoverished populations, such as therapy and other mental health services.
The technical feasibility of this is drastically improved with the development and adoption of comprehensive onchain identity.
True, ChatGPT is only $20USD/month but a lot of people in the world are existing in a scarcity mindset, which has been scientifically proven to negatively impact our ability to make goal-oriented decisions. When you're in a scarcity mindset, you can't think about the longterm benefit of that $20/mo - all you can think about is the opportunity cost of spending that $20 those first couple of months. This persists even if there's proof of the longterm benefits of those decisions as "the effects of scarcity are largest when they are compared with previous situations when resources were abundant" (Huijsmans et al).
Another decently large caveat
This whole argument and hope for a time utopia really only applies to countries that already have the bottom level of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs covered. Developing nations where these basic needs of clean water, food, and shelter are not yet satisfied, let alone reliable access to electricity and internet, wouldn't be able to reap the benefits of this new technology as they exist today. The wealth gap I am speaking of here is primarily referring to developed nations, as that is the wealth gap I have personally experienced.
However, there is hope for leapfrogging, where these developing natures will bypass older tech infrastructure and jump straight to more advanced solutions. Similar to how mobile technology was adopted in Africa without ever implementing landlines, it is possible that the first version of the internet these areas can access is one filled with AI services and agents.
How we can make this a reality
It's great to dream and all, but I am of the camp that dreams like this are best presented alongside ways we can bring them closer to reality.
The TLDR;? Early, core drivers of and contributors to this technology need to make a concerted effort to shape the foundation and initial development of these models and services, and prioritize exploration and value add over raw profit.
Advocating for policies and the development of infrastructure which prioritize equitable and fair access to AI and other technologies
Blockchain and fractionalized ownership, "users as owners" instead of "users as products" and the concept of "read, write, own" are great concepts behind infrastructure that supports democratized access
Bermuda's sandbox approach to digital asset regulatory policy has fostered a symbiotic and mutually beneficial environment between regulators, government, and buildersInnovative solutions tailored to the needs of developing nations oriented at minimal data and power usage
We must be careful to be transparent about the value exchange for these nations, I do not condone the approach World Coin has taken to biometric scanning of impoverished nations in exchange for an insultingly low value of assets in comparison to what these people are giving away.A healthy blend of intentional collaboration and competition
Closing off training data sets/models or the ability for users to customize their LLMs will drastically limit the potential of AI to fit the needs of every person that uses it, not only by forcing users to learn how to interact with AI but by potentially creating more echo chambers and polarized populations. AI training sets need to ensure diversity of information and sources to remove the risk of biased thought or feedback and be customizable enough that every user can benefit.
Ending with more dreams
I've been having so many conversations lately about time, how to create more time, and how to feel as if you're experiencing more time. And it's because the future I see for myself, and hope we all can achieve, is one where we're free to pursue our passions and curiosities without fear of financial instability or inability to contribute value to society. I see a future where art and creativity and music are abound and technology is at harmony with nature. I want a resurgence of the renaissance, but one of which the proletariat is able to fully partake in and where we all are patrons of each other.
Call me a disgusting optimist, but I do believe there is a path to a not-so-different version of this dream future. It just depends on what decisions we make as the creators and first adopters of this technology.
The future of AI is not predetermined - but shaped by the choices and actions of the individuals, companies, and governments that exist today. We should all feel a sense of shared responsibility to ensure that AI and other innovative technologies serve as forces for good, and promote the positive aspects to humanity, leading us towards an equal and empowered society.
One can dream :)
