Image Credit: Screenshot from Tim Ferriss podcast
Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, appearing on Tim Ferriss podcast (dated Oct 28, 2021) talked about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the future of it.
Schmidt shared an interesting anecdote, travelling to Pyongyang in 2012, on how technology isolates us into our own world. Below is the short clip.
The combination of Internet and smart phone connected us ‘instantly‘ to the world in ways not imagined few decades ago. But it is not without its own peril. The very thing that connected us across the distance also got us disconnected with those around physically us.
How often do we see families out for dinner and all glued to their own devices? Couples, friends or families meeting up but most of them consumed at connecting to the virtual world than the real one? We live in a society where we seek attention and approval, not from those around us, but from the virtual side of the world.
This is nothing new but a norm that we have, unfortunately, got so accustomed to as a society. Back in those old days, addiction was often related to substance abuse but now we have a form of addiction that the society has accepted without batting an eyelid. Or is addiction to technology not really an addiction?
The conversation also talks at length on AI, how it impacts or influences us, and the future with AI. The full implementation of AI could be the ultimate centralization of power, in an age when we need more decentralization. But I could be wrong – After all, what do I know?
You can watch the full clip below: