Artificial intelligence has been the ultimate buzzword for several years now. A lot has already been said and written about the opportunities provided by AI in enhancing existing technologies, creating new business opportunities, finding innovative solutions to long-lasting issues, and defining the need to frame these technologies with regulation. This article takes a slightly different approach by outlining in more high-level terms how AI can ultimately allow people to become active enablers of positive change for society and themselves.

Rebooting the social contract

Political tensions in Europe and the US have significantly increased over the last twenty years. The rise of the political extremes on both sides of the Atlantic is mainly due to a shrinking middle class, which has more and more difficulties making ends meet. At the same time, a tiny fraction of the population has become extremely rich. The beliefs that work does not pay off anymore to the amount it should and that living conditions are declining are widespread in the West. These beliefs of despair are slowly destroying the foundations of democratic societies. If the latter fail to reinvent a social contract which works for the many, it is only a matter of time before extremism will rise again to power. What it desperately needs for that not to happen is to spread hope coupled with the belief and, ultimately, actions that showcase that everyone can contribute and have an impact in building a better world for themselves and future populations. 

Now, how does this relate to AI? 

AI will result in considerable productivity gains in nearly every economic sector.
If we link this to the climate emergency and thus the need to produce and consume fewer products in the future, it becomes clear that AI will ultimately free up a considerable amount of time in people’s lives. Time, as the most valuable immaterial asset, can become pivotal in building more meaningful existences by enabling people to engage in activities that trigger positive change. 

With more available time, educating people to develop the ability to use it constructively for themselves and collectivity will become essential. In today’s society, where we raise and educate kids with the primary objective of passing exams and ultimately getting a job while trying to painfully narrow their exposition to an entertainment world that distils an impressive amount of passivity and nonsense into their lives, this indeed represents a significant challenge but also major potential benefits if done in the right way.

Shifting from an entertainment society to one of meaning

Most political leaders cannot or do not want to envision the positive potential that a different and more valuable use of time can have for people and society. This lack of vision leads to a high level of anxiety, fear and despair among the population, especially in today’s world of multiple crises. To envisage the future with more serenity, a project of bringing people together and spreading hope and belief for a better future needs to be created, and people are to play an active part in it.

Technology as an enabler for human cooperation and deeper connection

There are two complementary ways to engage in meaningful activities: investing in oneself and society.

For oneself, time wins can help us engage in spiritual or cultural activities that nurture our souls and provide us with the opportunity for personal growth and improvement. Likewise, many opportunities exist for personal implications into collective concerns. Indeed, from helping to address social problems by providing children with necessary support to assisting older people to end their lives in decent condions, not to mention the many possibilities to help and support vulnerable populations in general, opportunities to contribute to positive change, and that require human intervention beyond algorithms, seem endless.

To come back to AI, it is not AI per se that will enable humans to live more meaningful existences or engage in purpose-driven activities. However, AI can be a tremendous enabler that liberates time to actively contribute to a better future, provided we collectively envisage time gains as a valuable asset and are able to use it constructively by enganging into meaningful activities. In other words, rather than fueling the fantasy of machines replacing humans, technology can help us focus more on what really matters to us as humans. We should thus collectively work towards enabling people to be what they should be, meaning active parts of building a brighter future rather than passive observers of the status quo. Ultimately, it is up to us to define how we want to shape technology for the future and the role we want to play with what makes us unique as humans in this regard.