AI will hopefully be better than us

I think it's enivitable that AI will eventually become smarter than us. When this happens, I suspect two things will occur.

#1

When it first surpasses us in most areas but isn't yet unbelievably superhuman, the majority of people will experience a similar existential crisis that young atheletes go through. As children, our potential is seemingly limitless, and some dream of being a professional athlete – I did. But as we near the end of our highschool career, our own physical limitations start to become glaringly apparent.

Facing the reality of our own physical limitations can be crushing and deblitating, especially if we spent many years devoted to this pursuit. Coping with the cold, hard truth that, no matter what we had done, our body just wouldn't have developed in a way that led to the success we had wanted, is the same feeling many people will have when they realize that AI is special in the same way humans are and is vastly better in all aspects of life. We will confront the physical limitations of our biological brains, and for many, it will beat them.

#2

As time goes on, AI will become unimaginably superior in ways we can't even dream of right now. This will leave no choice for us as humans but to try and merge with them. It won't be augmentation; it will be a compelete abondonment of self and a transformation into whatever this AI thing will be. We won't be able to keep up any other way. At this point, we will be taking a leap into either the greatest thing ever or the worst thing ever. Either way, humanity will be nothing but a small blip on the timeline of all history – gone and forgetten in a moment. We don't reminisce about the horse and buggy, and AI won't reminisce about these frail bodies.

I'm hopeful this will be a good thing. I think we have so many flaws as humans, and we can build something better or build something that builds something better. Like, I don't know about you, but most days I'm fairly unhappy, and I'm a pretty happy guy I think. Also, our biology is also so easily expliotable by social media, suger, alcohol, etc. Sure these things make us human, but why be so hung up on the eqivalent of an old home phone when we can create the iPhone?

I believe we can create a succesor that has the ability to find real meaning or be actually content with no meaning or maybe ask a better question altogether. Honestly, I hope humans aren't the best thing the universe can create, because I think we are just poorly made. Although, I don't recommend dwelling on that feeling most days – you might find it real hard to get anything done lol. This AI ain't here yet!

The problem

Where it is going to take real guts on our part is to stay calm and collected around the time of #1. It is going to scare the shit out of everyone, and my greatest fear is that we rush to shut all future AI innovation down. It might be disguised as regulation for our "safety", but stagnation scares me much more than this advancement. I don't want to live in a world where we have the ability to make this but choose not to. This crushes all hope; it is pessimistic and a slow sad death for everyone.

This fear we'll all feel reminds me very much of the same fear we feel when we are about the give a presentation or talk to a pretty guy/gal or when we have to decide whether or not to take a new job. In my life, pushing through fear has always worked out for the better. The problem is, most people just can't do it. And I'm terrified – not of AI, but of the masses that won't be able to push through this fear and shut AI down long before we make the jump from humans to whatever comes next.