Will off-grid communities enhanced by AI be the alternative?

The "Opt-Outers" will create a society centered not on money, but rather on a strong community and innovative problem-solving with the help of AI.

Where do I start? By now, most people would have heard that the CEO of Anthropic, a company that specializes in Artificial Intelligence, is sounding the alarm about the likely significant rise in unemployment due to AI replacing white-collar jobs. He also stated that the government needs to consider possible solutions, including taxing AI companies at a higher rate to support wealth redistribution. As Gen Z look at their job prospects after college, they are becoming more inclined to choose blue-collar careers, for more stability, as they think it will take AI a little more time to disrupt. They are doing the math, and depending on their level of risk aversion, they don’t see it reasonable to take on massive student debt to prepare for a white collar career when chances are getting slimmer to get a job in those fields or keep a job because of regular layoffs due to AI integration in organizations. There are also concerns about the rapid rise in inequality, driven by significant profits to be made from AI investments by a handful of investors. I spoke more on the topic in my last post: https://stephenbarnez.substack.com/p/we-have-never-disrupted-our-intelligence. Again, Anthropic's CEO says that even if his company stops AI research, several others are pouring billions into it, and even if America stops, China will continue, leaving America behind. So, the AI train will not stop. Companies are ready to cut their staff costs, and workers are worried that at any time they may receive a suspicious meeting invitation from their boss with HR.

There are discussions that people need to reskill in the age of AI continually. While that may be good advice in this season, my question is, can you reskill faster than AI can make the new skills irrelevant? It takes years for humans to learn, and it also takes months or even years for school curricula to adapt to the demands of the current job market. Unless AI is developing school curricula in real-time, with AI teachers having the most up-to-date skills to teach students in the most efficient way possible, this process may be prolonged. Not to mention the cost of education and training, unless we have AI both teaching and certifying us at a lower price. But if AI teaches, can’t it simply apply in the workplace what it teaches us? Again, you see my frustration with the reskilling argument. To be clear, I’m not against it; it’s just that there will be a time when it becomes more impractical for most people. We don’t all have the same educational base and abilities in situations where the speed of knowledge acquisition is just as crucial as the knowledge itself.

Now, to get to the meat of the matter, sorry to take so long. I had to paint a picture (not the prettiest, I must admit). I’ve been coming across videos lately about people getting tired of the high-stress demands of 9-5 life and choosing instead to live off the grid. They explain the benefits of a low cost of living, less stress, more time freedom, and purpose, among others. One guy’s setup was so good that he had a large water catchment, a small farm, including a decent-sized chicken coop, a big cabin (with an outside bathroom). Another video featuring a young lady had a more humble setup, as she was starting. She cleared the land and built a cabin herself. The last video I’ll mention is one where a group of people (friends, I think) came together to create a small community. Everyone pitched in to help each other with building their houses; they farmed, shared vehicles, and other resources. Money wasn’t the currency greasing that system they created; it was focused on each one playing their part to build up the whole. I’m seeing these videos, and then I’m seeing videos about AI disruption causing massive unemployment, with workers fearing an AI takeover. Then it occurred to me that people will become so frustrated with the disruption, fear, rising cost, inequality, stress, and unrest in an AI capitalist society that they will start opting out for a society where it is more communal, where AI still plays a role but not to disrupt anything but to enhance the community in developing mechanisms for self sustanability while rapidly enriching the experience of everyone there. I call these people the Opt-Outers. Will the powers that be allow the Opt-Outers to thrive, knowing that as their lifestyle becomes more attractive, they will lose control, or will they fight to maintain their power?

If the governments of the world do not address the AI disruption in a meaningful way, then people will go their own way. And the Opt-Outers will be ready to welcome new people into their communities with open arms (maybe).

#artifical intelligence, #artifical general intelligence, #society, #economics, #future ofwork, #offthegrid, #community