Why Human Intelligence Matters More Than Ever in the Age of AI

There is a widespread fear that the rise of AI will make many humans redundant. This article argues that while this might be true for a small percentage of the population, human intelligence will actually become more important in ways we cannot yet imagine.

When nylon fabric was first invented, everyone aspired to wear nylon clothing. It was supposed to replace cotton, and its initial high price made it a status symbol. However, as demand for nylon increased, investment in production followed. This led to oversupply, causing nylon prices to fall dramatically. The wealthy could no longer use nylon to signal their status, and so they reverted to natural cotton. Eventually, nylon fell out of fashion for everyday wear, and today it's difficult to imagine using it as a primary clothing material.

The same is true for many other innovations. Candles were once an essential source of light, but the invention of the light bulb rendered them less practical for that purpose. Yet, candles remain relevant. They are still used in specialized ways – as scented candles or to create a romantic atmosphere during a candlelit dinner. Candles are inexpensive, and while their usage pattern has changed, they remain a part of our lives.

In the realm of technology, versatility often emerges as a defining trait. Even when a technology's primary purpose becomes obsolete, it often finds new applications. Take, for instance, the evolution of transportation methods over time. Decades ago, ships reigned supreme as the primary mode of intercontinental travel. Today, commercial airlines have taken the forefront, rendering ships less prominent in this domain. However, the shipping industry has seamlessly transitioned, placing greater emphasis on container shipping—a prime example of adaptation.

Similarly, consider the role of horses throughout history. Once indispensable for various forms of transportation, they now primarily serve as a pursuit for the affluent, such as equestrian sports.

Yet, perhaps the most remarkable "technology" of all is humanity itself. Endowed with general intelligence and a myriad of other attributes, humans stand as the pinnacle of resourcefulness. Continuously striving to enhance their own lives, humans possess a remarkable capacity for change and adaptation. Indeed, this ability to evolve surpasses that of any other known entity.

Why humans will become more important in era of AI ?

Let's consider an example. When cross-continent communication costs dropped significantly, American companies realized they could hire people in India to manage their customer service call centers for a fraction of what they paid their American employees. In India, where the economy was struggling, these salaries were considered quite good.

This freed American citizens to do other more productive jobs such as working in social media, financial services etc. while Indian citizens earned a decent wage. In a limited sense this could be seen as a magical AI that helped American companies reduce the cost of running a call center to much smaller amounts.

But lower costs created a scale effect. Now even a small company could simply employ dozens of people manning a call center which was unthinkable earlier. Everyone had hotlines. Consumers in USA were very used to just calling up the customer service center that ran 24x7. India employed around 50x more call center employees than USA ever did.

But with the scale came higher expectations from consumers. People were unhappy that the person on other side had a name they could not pronounce or an Indian accent.

Soon premium businesses started advertising "all American call centers" using American call centers as some kind of premium service.

Indian call centers expanded the American market, lowered costs for American consumers, and provided them with a higher quality of service than they could have otherwise afforded. However, this also made American call centers appear more valuable and premium.

Very likely the same effect will be seen across the board with all human work. While AI will be super efficient at everything and will operate at an 1000x scale of humans, human made things and human services will be even more valuable and premium. It also means they people working in these professions would get paid more.

AI will augment human intelligence not replace it.

What if AI is just as good at humans ?

While it is unlikely, what if AI becomes as good as humans at everything ? This is actually a far better scenario for human society. It means that humans need not do anything and leave AI to figure out everything. AI can create new companies, invent new vaccines, figure out how to create youtube videos and what not. This is a scenario where humans don't lose the jobs but rather the need to work itself disappears from humanity.

Conclusion

Human services are likely going to be even more valuable in the world of AI dominated services. This is a well known phenomenon with all the technologies we have invented in past. When humans are freed from doing a job that machines do better, humans focus their energies on even more amazing things. Humanity will be significantly better off due to AI.