The Curse of AI

Most of us use AI - whether to support daily tasks, write texts, or save time by letting it do our research. It seems harmless – but are there any downsides?

Well, let’s start with classifying the recent historical evolutionary stages and the impact each of those stages had on our lives. I would mark the industrial revolution, which took place in the 18th-19th centuries, as the start of our current era. Pure handwork and craftsmanship were replaced by mass production and machines. For the first time in human history, it became possible to produce the exact same product hundreds, thousands, or even millions of times. At the same time, real craftsmanship became increasingly rare and valuable - instead of being the standard, as it had been for centuries. The Industrial Revolution replaced human labor with machines.

Then came the Digital Revolution of the 20th-21st centuries. Research that once required extensive libraries and countless hours of reading gradually became easier. Information that took a lot of books to gather now became accessible via the internet. Instead of leafing through countless pages for even more hours, all it took was a few clicks on a keyboard and a few more on web pages. In recent years even that has become unnecessary. With the invention of AI chatbots, the only thing left to do is phrase a question and read or even copy-paste the answer.

While the Industrial Revolution replaced the human body, the Digital Revolution seems to be replacing the human mind. But as physical craftsmanship became more valuable with the rise of machines, the same goes for creative and cognitive skills in the age of digital technology. A Rolex watch gains most of its value from the craftsmanship skills of its builder, every gear precisely placed by hand, guided by years of experience and patience, while a Casio watch, is born of automation – accurate and efficient, but as soulless as a digital print compared to an original painting.

The same goes for AI. It may be efficient, often accurate, and helpful, but it can never match the value of something created purely by the human mind. Especially in terms of design, just like a Casio, it might look nice and fulfill its purpose – but will you remember the beauty of its craftsmanship or simply forget it, just like the exact time that you once read from it?

Any brand or business built purely with AI will suffer the same fate as a Casio. Things meant to last and withstand the test of time demand real craftsmanship, not mass production.