Carl Benedict Frey's column: We don't do any work just for income

Kurt Vonnegut, in his novel 'Player Piano' (1952), imagined a world where machines have automated most industries and only a few engineers and managers are left to oversee the system. The government arranges for the food and accommodation of all the other people, but they have no work to do. Has Vonnegut's imagination proved to be visionary? It is not yet possible to say that AI will make a large part of our workforce redundant. But we do know that AI is beginning to present serious challenges to the meaning of human life. If most of our work is automated, on average we will be more prosperous. This should increase the level of satisfaction. However, research shows that when your income doubles, your parameters of evaluating life become equally rigid. But having any meaning in life is a different matter. The work we do not only give us income, it is also a part of our identity. On the other hand, if we have nothing to do, it damages our mental health, even if we are getting full income. Along with the salary, work also gives a person discipline in life, a sense of attachment, social prestige and a sense of contributing to a purpose. These qualities cannot be redistributed like money. In fact, AI poses a challenge to the meanings of life in at least three ways. The AI doesn't have to be better than you to undermine your sense of purpose; It is only enough for it to be 'functional' sound and low-cost. When we are left behind by something extraordinary, it is a different matter; But to be made irrelevant by something that is only 'good-enough' is quite another. In addition, AI-powered entertainment and 'companionship' (treating AI as a friend and spending time with it) can capture a large part of people's need for time and social interaction. They can also replace the more challenging activities that create meaning in life. By providing a seamless and seamless closeness experience, AI can push back the efforts, duties, reciprocity, selflessness, and discomforts that real relationships require. The relationship with AI doesn't ask us for anything in return. In fact, it is just consumption presented as a relationship. Digital-life has already transformed human relationships. Increased use of social media among young people has been found to be associated with a decline in the sense of satisfaction in life. AI does not yet play a role in this, but it does show that more interaction through digital means does not bring much depth to human relationships. The truth is that the search for meaning in life is rarely from a position of comfort. It is only through the efforts made to achieve a chosen objective, whether it is raising your child or mastering a skill. Looking back in life, people value the struggle for a meaningful goal. Perhaps this is the reason why more prosperous and developed societies experience more convenience, but they do not have a deeper sense of the purpose of life. Also remember that even if AI surpasses human capabilities, not every kind of work will end. Even after computers have become better than humans in chess, people have not stopped playing chess. People still run, cook meals, compose music, make furniture, and watch live-performances by buying expensive tickets. The search for meanings in life is rarely from a position of comfort. It is only through the efforts made to achieve a purpose, whether it is the upbringing of a child or the mastery of a skill. People value the struggle for a goal. (@प्रोजेक्ट Syndicate)