"In 1863, philosopher Samuel Butler speculated that we would be the architects of our own eclipse: "We are ourselves creating our own successors...in the course of ages we shall find ourselves the inferior race." He may have been imagining mechanical looms and steam engines rather than neural networks, but the concern lingers. Science fiction of the 20th century gave us visions of malevolent, megalomaniacal artificial intelligences overthrowing humanity."
"Instead of calamity, we got competence. Large language models can provide the skills of a junior researcher or software engineer in a fraction of the time. Posing even more of an existential threat, AI has brought about the automation of creativity. If you doubt this, spend a few minutes listening to AI-generated music. You'll find emotionally stirring ballads sung in voices nearly indistinguishable from a trained performer. AI even threatens us with a potential fount of human connection:"
A 19th-century warning framed the idea that humans might create their successors and become inferior; that unease persists. Science fiction envisioned hostile AIs, but modern large language models show pattern anticipation rather than intent. The primary danger is existential rather than physical. Large models match junior researcher or engineer skills rapidly and now automate creative tasks, producing emotionally convincing music and ever-available companionship. The combination of superior thinking, efficient creativity, and ready support raises the question of human obsolescence. Clinical psychology emphasizes that therapeutic outcomes depend most on the quality of relationship and the experience of feeling felt.
Read at Psychology Today
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