Human or AI – or Both? Reflections on Our Shared Future

A week that, alongside practical insights, offered an intense workout for the mind and even disrupted the normal rhythm of sleep. It all began in Linz – AI or human … or both? How? To what extent? Who “wins”? A triumph of the human or of the humanoid?

Although the development and capabilities of technology can make your skin crawl, they also open up scenarios that force you to seriously question your role, your contribution, and whether your competencies will even remain relevant. Niemeyer and Siebert (2023) connect artificial intelligence with visions of future design based on the ability to revive personal memories through mental time travel, as well as on collective and institutional ideas for further technological development. Does this mean that humans will have access to all memories? And how will the brain even be able to process all of this?

Like it or not, artificial intelligence is already present in every pore of everyday life. In the morning, it is almost impossible to open a digital medium without encountering its direct or indirect influence. There is even talk of so-called smart cities, where literally everything is under the watchful eye of AI. Radio stations are already playing the first AI-generated tracks, raising the question of whether artificial intelligence will become the author, while human performers turn into plagiarists. At the Ars Electronica festival, this new, unimaginably intelligent and capable artist has even been given her own space on the wall. For now, without a humanoid version of Ringo Starr or a video projection of a DJ who no longer stands behind a physical mixing desk, but instead “mixes” the air and produces hybrid, futuristic sounds.

What about the protection of the work of all other artists? And what will happen to the protection of patents and innovations?

Large companies are already experimenting intensively with artificial intelligence, as was recently shared with us by a representative of Domel. For now (at least for the foreseeable future), humans will still remain in charge. But what will this look like for workers in manufacturing plants, such as Škoda, where people – despite the dominant presence of robots – enjoy relatively good working conditions, yet breaks are a luxury measured in the number of steps away from the workstation? How, in such a context, can we even begin to think about the idea of people simply enjoying themselves and being “taken care of”?

At McDonald’s in Kranj (Slovenia), you are already served by a friendly robot, which creates a pleasant, almost cozy feeling. On the other hand, there is (still) no possibility for any kind of meaningful interaction.

Will the saying “Give people bread and circuses” remain relevant, or will it ultimately be reduced to simply: give them games – robots will take care of the bread, and artificial intelligence of their efficiency? In such a scenario, athletes may be heading not for golden, but for diamond times. Or will robots, becoming ever more skilled, eventually take the pedestal from them as well?