Unfiltered AI Talk: Keep Critical Reasoning - That's What Makes You Human | Episode [22]

Solutions that help AI understand us better as humans. My fundamental question is, how can AI fully understand us if we don't fully understand ourselves? Like, okay, we're just evolving as we go. We're learning things.

People don't understand themselves deeply in every single way, but people understand. Like, we understand ourselves really simply. Like, we like to have a good time, we like to laugh at things. We like to have good sense of humor. So I think that's important for AI to have if we're going to get along with it. And it needs to have a good sense of humor. It needs to be able to laugh at itself. It needs to be able to laugh with us, because we're just going to get sick of each other and kill each other if it doesn't. Yeah. So I think that's important. I think there's a big debate about, like, AI and art, and, like, what's that going to do? I think that art is actually very important to have next to AI, because AI something that it can't do. It can create art, but it can't create art that is made from the experience of a person. It is. It can just make art from definitions, descriptions, labels, that stuff. It's not like, it's not something new, it's not something real. And so I think that people kind of are gonna need to do a thing where it's like, they admit that, like, if you're really good at coding or really good at math, AI can do that stuff.

Yeah.

So it's like, focus on your strengths that make you unique, are realistic and make you unique. So it's like AI, like, if it can't make good art, like, focus on your creative side and then find a way to incorporate AI in that.

What's your creative side?

I like the philosophy of aesthetics. I'm a philosophy major. And that's basically, like, the visual side of philosophy. Yeah.

So what does it mean to be. What is consciousness?

Yeah, pretty much. And like, sort of just like, looking at everything around you and thinking about it, what it means.

Got it.

Okay.

So, like, a lot of axiology, I'm.

Not sure what that means.

Axiology is more on, like, a spectrum. Right. Because aesthetics is not, like, it's subjective. It's very subjective. Everybody's got a. Do you ever read anything by Anil Seth? He's a neuroscientist and philosopher. He talks about how our brains are prediction machines or beast machines. Where the first time your brain never lied to you was the second time you opened your eyes, Meaning you get all this data, your experiences are very different. Nature, nurture, everybody's got a different set of that. And so your subjective lens on the world and every interaction is different. Yeah, so yeah, that's really what I mean by that. That's really interesting. Yeah. So I'm kind of curious, like in philosophy, how do you see that intersecting with. I actually think the world could use more philosophy right now. Like, I think that it's always good to think. Oh yeah. Actually there's a lot of studies showing that people deferring their critical reasoning skills to AI are getting dumber.

Oh yeah?

Yeah, you totally believe that.

Yeah.

Do you see that around there? Like around the world?

Unfortunately. I mean, sometimes I see that in myself because it's like if I. It's kind of unfortunate as a college student because you get to decide what's busy work and what's not. So it's like, I don't want to do that canvas quiz. Like I feel like it's like shit that I don't need to know I'm gonna do AI or whatever. It's like I'm not learning that. But it's like, is that a good use of my time? I can go do my art instead of spend time study for that thing that I'm never gonna use. True.

It's.

I don't know, it's debatable. Okay.

Okay.

I think it really depends on again, being realistic and being like, okay, what is it realistic to use my effort and use my thoughts on? That's the way that I justify it at least.

How do you go through your decision making process?

Well, I know that I'm not going to be a mathematician, I'm not going to be a scientist. So if I take those classes, unfortunately, like I don't know if like who, whose audience this is gonna reach, but I don't know if all my genuine energy is gonna go into there. Like I'm gonna try to pass the class, but my real, like my soul, my energy, all my effort, my critical thinking is gonna go into my art classes, my philosophy classes and the stuff that I care about and that I know I will be useful with. Like, I'm not gonna be useful with a bunch of math classes under my belt.

What does useful mean to you?

Like, be able to demonstrate the abilities I have. Like basically the areas in which I can perform best. Like I think, like, it's like why you choose the major you choose? It's like, do you think you. Why would you choose a major that you think you're bad at? You wouldn't. So I think, I mean, for me personally.

Yeah, yeah. Okay. Backing up a little bit on AI thoughts on AI companionship, like AI boyfriend, AI girlfriend, thoughts on that?

Okay. I'm not gonna be a judger. I feel like people can do whatever the fuck they want because why not? It's their life. Whatever makes them happy and whatever prevents them from decaying morally. I mean, good social lives are crazy good for your health. So if you can find that through AI. Okay. Me personally. No, it wouldn't work out. I don't think so.

Wouldn't work out with an AI worker?

No, I don't think so.

No. No. Okay. Another. Another thought. Thoughts on an AI president versus current president.

I'm gonna keep it simple. I'm gonna say no.

No. Okay. And what if AI gets smarter and smarter and smarter? Do you think our president's getting smarter and smarter and smarter?

I don't know if like the two have a correlation yet, but I would say if AI does get to that point, let's say where it gets really smart. I feel like people are never going to be able to admit that it's smarter than them, even if it is on paper.

I'll admit it, I'm dumb as shit. I don't know anything. AI knows a lot more than me, except it can't parse signal through noise on a lot of things. Right. So there's like human judgment that needs to be taken into account in every subjective context.

Yeah. I think there's too many subjective things about the human mind that it's like AI can't. It's like apples and oranges almost.

Got it.

Yeah.

Okay, so you talked about usefulness. So, so pulling on that a little bit. Coming out of college, into the job market, are you worried about AI taking jobs? You're worried about your job security?

I think it will. I don't think it's a good practice to worry. I think it's a good practice to be useful with your thoughts and with your energy and to be practical. I would say it makes sense for people to be worried. I think that's valid. But me personally, I'm going to try to get into the workforce or I don't know if I want to call it a workforce. Get into that part of my life in a way that is realistic and that AI won't like kill me or whatever.

What do you think you do after for a living? Have you thought that?

Well, my friend makes fun of me for saying this because it's not like a conventional thing and it is a very open ended whatever, but the philosopher direction where it's like I want to write things and connect with people and share ideas and have conversations and stuff like that. That's why I said yes to the interview because I'm like, okay, let's talk.

So yeah, you know, actually I see more AI startups are trying to get that kind of multidisciplinary expertise into their startups. One of my friends just posted a few job postings around cognitive science and philosophy and I think, well, there's actually the reason. It's because technology evolves when philosophy learns to ask the right questions. And right now technology is evolving at such a rapid rate that I think the builders are not asking the right questions. Kenji, what do you think about AI? What do you think about AI? Yeah, you could pet him if you want. I'm still training him.

Is he a puppy?

Yeah, he's six months. I just got him from the rescue like four months ago or four weeks ago. And I'm like super busy. So I'm like, all right, gotta do work street interviews while I dog dad train, you know what I mean? Just gotta hustle. Yeah, his name's Kenji.

I should go soon cause I'm like freezing. Okay, do you have any last questions?

Maybe you just give a shout out or anything like that.

A shout out?

Yeah, anything you want.

Okay, well, shout out to my BCC professor who I'm just now taking. Her name's Carolyn Martin. I find her class really interesting. She teaches about visual culture. She knows what she's talking about. She's a smart lady, I would say take her class if you want to. A lot of the BCC professors are really good, I would say. I've also taken classes at Cal and I don't know, I've had kind of a pretty good experience over there. Okay.

Yo, if you want to hit me up, I'm the Robert Taw on everything. We're just getting started again. I'm tired of tech billionaires telling people what to think. Sometimes in the streets getting a pulse of real people thinking real thoughts around AI. Is it going to kill us all? What do you worry about? And getting your feelings in perspective. So I really appreciate you taking the time. If you want to hit me up, I could tag you on when my social media team hits this out. Yeah, the Robert Talk. Oh yeah. If you want to, I could put it in your phone now. Thank you. For the perspective. I haven't, I haven't had a philosopher perspective yet, but I do think that philosophy is what's going to help us grow the right way? I think about it as, like, co evolving with the tools. I think about it, like, co evolving with the tools. Right. If you. Yeah. Like, if you defer all your judgment to it, then you're just becoming something dumber. But if you co evolve your perspective and keep your critical reasoning skills, like, that is what makes you uniquely human.

If you keep an open mind, your life will continue. If you keep a closed hand and a closed mind, you've got nothing going on.

Exactly. Exactly.

What's your intern?

The Robert and then ta. Okay, that'll be the first one. Shoot me a DM and I'll tag you when I set this up. Thank you so much.