“Listen, if we don’t use this, and if we’re not aware of this, if we don’t understand this, this will use us.”
The article presents several values and perspectives:
The Role of Algorithms: The article highlights the role of algorithms in our lives, discussing both their benefits in making recommendations and their potential pitfalls in making suggestions that can influence our actions.
The Importance of Mindfulness: The article underscores the importance of being mindful when using technology. It suggests setting goals and thinking ahead of time about what we want to use technology for, rather than mindlessly following algorithmic suggestions.
The Goal of Efficient Technology Use: The article presents an ultimate goal of using technology so efficiently that we can complete a day’s work in just a few hours, leaving more time for human interactions and enjoyment.
Introduction
In the early 2000s, the world was captivated by the dot-com boom, a period of rapid growth and speculation in the internet sector. Today, as I wrote about earlier this week, we stand on the precipice of a new technological revolution: the age of advanced computing, or as it’s more commonly known, artificial intelligence (AI).
AI is, at its core, a language model — that’s it. However, it’s the next step in our technological evolution, a tool that promises to reshape our world as profoundly as the Internet did two decades ago. But like any tool, its value is determined by how we use it.
For those willing to embrace this new era, the potential benefits are immense. AI offers us the chance to become more useful, more effective, and more productive. It provides us with the tools to set ambitious goals and change our world for the better.
But this is not a blind endorsement of AI. We must also acknowledge the potential negative effects that come with it. However, to truly see this, we must first take a look at our surroundings and realize that we currently live in an algorithmic world, interacting with multiple algorithms on a daily basis, often without realizing just how pervasive they’ve become. This is the Brave New World that has been set before us.
The Ubiquity of Technology
How much technology do we use in a day? It’s a question that is seldom asked, yet it holds significant implications. Our world has become so integrated with technology that it’s almost a byproduct of our daily lives. We wake up, and within minutes, we’re on a technological device. We go to work, and more often than not, our work involves a technological device. We communicate with friends and family through technological devices — and I’ve talked about the dangers of all this technology on our human bodies and experiences in articles such as “Deep Fakes” and “Our Ocularcentric Society.”
In my previous article, “Life Without Cell Phones,” I gleaned some insights from individuals who lived before the 2000s, a time when technology hadn’t yet consumed our lives. People could enjoy life with other humans, unencumbered by the constant pull of digital devices.
The advent of technology was supposed to make our lives easier, freeing us from mundane tasks and giving us more time to engage with other humans and enjoy the essence of life. This idea aligns with the seven pillars of life that I’ve discussed in numerous articles. However, the reality has been different.
As I discuss in my podcast “To AI or Not AI,” we’ve been given this amazing gift known as technology. But this gift is so advanced that we often don’t know how to use it appropriately. Unbeknownst to us, it has crept into every area of our lives, interfacing and interacting in ways we’re not always aware of.
Here is where we need to have a conversation about algorithms. These algorithms, which underpin much of the technology we use, consume massive amounts of data about human life and its interactions. They use this data to make recommendations, which can be helpful. However, they also make suggestions, and this is where the first significant problem with the algorithm arises.
The Role of Algorithms And The Cybernetic Feedback Loop
These algorithms, which underpin much of the technology we use, consume massive amounts of data about human life and its interactions. They use this data to make recommendations, which can be helpful. However, they also make suggestions, and this is where the first significant problem with the algorithm arises.
This “suggestion” is very reminiscent of the term cybernetics, where we now have a feedback loop or, if you’re feeling very conspiratorial, a control loop. As we use these technologies, what happens is that oftentimes — since we’re not aware of this negative aspect of these devices — these technologies, in turn, end up using us.
One of the most striking images I’ve seen comes from the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, which discusses the dangers of social media and technology. There’s a graph that shows how the human brain has changed and how much technology has changed in that same period.
In short, we’re essentially dealing with weapons of mass advancements that we’ve never been trained on nor may necessarily be ready for. This scenario isn’t negative; it’s only a problem for us to be aware of.
As
discussed in his article “Maintain Your Brain,” research shows that when you use social media, particularly TikTok, your brain turns into a binary state: to watch or decide. That’s all you’re doing—watching the video or deciding what to do about it. And this is not just a TikTok problem. We have to be mindful that this is simply an algorithm problem.For example, how many of us have gone down Substack rabbit holes? How many of us have gone down YouTube rabbit holes? Again, I’m not saying these are negatives — just dangers to be mindful of.
There is an algorithm here, and as we talk about AI, what we are about to see is advanced computing that can capture a lot of information for its users and produce outputs that the user can then take. However, the one thing that we need to be mindful of is that, as a user, you still need to think. You don’t want to let the computer or the algorithm think for you. When we start to lose that aspect of reality, the ability to think for ourselves, it is at this point that we can say that the algorithm has consumed our human essence.
This future is the danger of AI and algorithms, and this is what we need to be mindful of.
The Challenge of Technology And The Ultimate Goal
With all that being said, technology and AI aren’t going anywhere. They are set to be the next phase of the human story. We should not be scared of them, but we should seek to learn about them and use them to our advantage. I challenge myself and every user to understand these technologies so we can use them to liberate ourselves.
I had the privilege of talking to an individual earlier this week, a person well-versed in AI. In fact, it was an AI session that we were diving into, and he was showing me — for two hours — what AI could do. He’s also a libertarian, and he mentioned, “Listen, if we don’t use this, and if we’re not aware of this, if we don’t understand this, this will use us.” That quote was very synchronistic with my message for this week in the multiple articles on the topic.
If we don’t understand these technologies, if we are fearful of them, if we are not mindful of what they can do, both good and bad, they will ultimately use, control, and enslave us.
So how can we do this? How can we become aware of these technologies? Fortunately, the answer is simple and goes back to the one phenomenon we discuss at length on this publication. We simply have to pay attention and be mindful of it. One trick I’ve found quite helpful here is the art of setting goals for ourselves.
I came across an Instagram video about a coder and how she codes. But what really impressed me was that before she starts coding, she always writes down on pen and paper what exactly she’s going to do. It appears that she does this for hours prior to her writing her first line of code. This image resonated with me because it served as a reminder: “I am going to use this technology, but before I do, what am I going to use this technology for?”
With this time and attention dedicated to awareness, we can think ahead about what we want to use this technology for before we mindlessly grab the phone and dive into it. I would argue that this is the human essence that we need to bring back to awareness; this is a phenomenon of attention that needs to occur in our lives.
This way of living is why I talk about the seven pillars of life: If we can keep these pillars at the forefront of our minds in our technologically adept world, we will always use technology to advance toward those goals.
If we can foster this mindfulness, we have an idea of what we’re using technology for whenever we attempt to use it. We don’t mindlessly aim and use technology because the algorithm has suggested we read this notification or look at this breaking story. But by being aware, we can capture and think first — activating that human essence — about what we want to do, then dive into the use of technology. Writing, a step in the practice of magic, helps tremendously to bring forth this divine essence.
The goal, the ultimate goal, is that we can use technology so efficiently that we can do a day’s work in two to four hours. We can then enjoy the remaining eight, ten, or twelve hours with other humans in person, having conversations —knowing that the machine is in the background, working for us.
Ultimately, I envision this for myself and would love to do it personally. I invite you all to join me on this journey. If you have any questions, comments, or thoughts, let me know.
I look forward to your feedback.
Ashe.
Questions To Reflect On
How much technology do I use in a day, and how does it impact my daily life?
How can I be more mindful when using technology, and how can I ensure that I’m using technology for a purpose rather than letting it dictate my actions?
How can I use technology and AI to my advantage, and what steps can I take to learn more about them?
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In the 90’s I remember news stories about how each of us would have a personal AI assistant. When you woke in the morning it would read you your messages and schedule for the day, tell you the weather, give you the daily news, etc. That would have been great if we had been in control of our personal information and been allowed to choose what we wanted served to us each day, but companies like Google were created (by the CIA funded and directed In-Q-Tel) to have us give them our personal data, daily routines, habits, likes and dislikes, contact lists, etc. through free email accounts, calendars, search engines, web browsers, etc. to not only advertise to us, but to construct a personal profile so detailed that it knows more about us than we know about ourselves. That information is fed into an algorithm that not only serves up things that are beneficial but is also used to track and control our behavior.
I have recently been delving into the theory that we are in a very advanced simulation. In our simulation there is an algorithm that acts in the same way that social media and advertising companies like Google, Instagram and TikTok do to feed us content. The algorithm feeds us information that supports our worldview. But if we take control of the algorithm and started telling it to feed us content that is not based upon our previous pattern, like focusing on negative fear porn from the media, dire financial news, which presidential candidate is going to be elected to save us, fear of a nuclear holocaust, WWIII, etc., we can shape our future reality. Instead, we should be focusing on the positive and taking action in the physical world that moves us forward in that direction. This is what Napoleon Hill’s book Think and Grow Rich teaches us, and this is what the movie The Matrix was telling us. Take the red pill. Realize that you are jacked into the simulation; a simulation that is designed to make you believe you are not in a simulation. To be clear, I am not saying that my thinking and action can change the macro-reality I inhabit. I cannot control crime, financial downturns, war, elections, etc. through positive thoughts and actions. There are too many others focused on those issues and driving the algorithm; in reality, the algorithm is influencing society into a negative feedback loop. But it is possible that I can influence my personal bubble by modifying the algorithm.
I'm reading the book Wifi Refugee by Shannon Rowan which I highly recommend. In it, she retells several other peoples' stories of being electro-sensitive refugees. Many of them have learned valuable lessons about technology, its use, and manifesting. Firstly, if we use the technology, we are just supporting an Industry that is using us in a negative way. Where do you want to spend your energy? your attention? Isn't our attention a powerful currency? AI is not a "given". Nothing is. There is value in learning how to write and use language by your own trial and error, to "see" how the use of different language manifests in reality, and then learn to change your language based on the reality you have manifested. This has been my own experience writing down my affirmations. I find that the Universe responds quite literally and I have had to adjust my desires. That is the beauty of learning. Anyone who has trained for anything understands this kind of learning. It takes time for the brain and body to absorb the new information into the subconscious. AI can never replace this.