“Life will change markedly by 2040 due in part to the huge strides in the evolution of large language models that we are already seeing.
“Education systems will necessarily be reconfigured to accommodate the use of generative tools. New methods of teaching and new ways to determine whether we have met educational goals and learning outcomes will be required, as we will be unable to determine the locus of understanding in our students with our current methods.
The ability to use AI to manage transit flows – of people, vehicles and information – will shape future expectations tied to space and geography, along with our ability to move through it efficiently. … It can also result in an erosion of our ability to use time to our advantage – to make considered judgments, to feel and process emotion, to alter an earlier-made response. This would be a major loss, as it is these are the very things that make us human.
“Generative tools may also shape societal values in ways that are unanticipated – for example, if artistic works can be generated through the use of AI, how will we value creativity?
“What stands out to me is the way in which AI is already reconfiguring time and space to suit individual and organizational purposes. I expect this momentum will carry to the future in greater measure.
“The ability to use AI to manage transit flows – of people, vehicles and information – will shape future expectations tied to space and geography, along with our ability to move through it efficiently. This may be a gain for societies that are already choked by traffic and will benefit all types of political and economic actors. At the same time, I am concerned that we may lose something valuable due to the way in which AI technologies configure and compress time.
“On the surface, the use of AI seems like a positive benefit, as it gives us the ability to generate quicker responses with greater and better information. But it can also result in an erosion of our ability to use time to our advantage – to make considered judgments, to feel and process emotion, to alter an earlier-made response. This would be a major loss, as it is these are the very things that make us human.”
This was written in November 2023 in reply to the question: Considering likely changes due to the proliferation of AI in individuals’ lives and in social, economic and political systems, how will life have changed by 2040? This and more than 150 additional responses are included in the report “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence by 2040”