The REAL Fight Over AI Art

Here's a reality: the combination of AI and robotics will, over time, replace most of us. That has to be a given.

And I think that's ultimately a good thing, but please give me just a moment to explain. If a machine replaces a human, it frees that human to enjoy other pursuits. I think that's a good thing.

But what about jobs, right? That's the sticking point. What about jobs?

But that question misses the point. How many of us would be in our current jobs if we won the lottery tomorrow? Some, perhaps, but most of us, not so much. We'd rather do the things we enjoy doing. Even those of us who love our jobs still have aspects we don't care for, and getting that bullshit out of our lives would be fabulous, right?

But we need jobs.

Do we?

I believe that we as a society need to recognize the inevitable and have conversations now about what society is going to look like 20 years from now. Or 50. Or however long you think it will be when AI replaces all of us.

I believe that, if we let certain segments of society have their way, most of us will suffer. So we need to start discussing it. And we need to realize that we're going to have to change our basic attitudes about things. We're going to need to guarantee -- for absolutely everyone -- a decent standard of living. Housing, clothing, food, medical care, and we can discuss more after that.

I'm a really poor musician, but if I want to spend the rest of my life trying to be a musician, I should still live in a decent home, with good food, and all the other things people need.

Socialism? Maybe. Call it what you will.

But AI is inevitable. We need to recognize that and figure out what changes we're going to make to society before it becomes dire.