I, Human: AI, Automation, and the Quest to Reclaim What Makes Us Unique by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic.
Tomas holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Buenos Aires, M.Sc. in Occupational Psychology from Goldsmiths, University of London, and Ph.D. in Business Psychology from University College London. He has taught at New York University, Columbia, and Harvard. Today he is the Chief Innovation Officer at ManpowerGroup.
In the book I, Human the impact of artificial intelligence to improve how we live and work is from the perspective of a Psychologist, not a software engineer. So questions about how AI will alienate us are at the forefront of this book.
An example is the embrace of AI dating apps by today’s younger Generation Z or GenAlpha. Big Box retailers have deployed AI to not only highlight products but also track user behavior. And thankfully, Tomas is revealing how rogue actors and criminals are using AI to persuade our political views with social media tools including Twitter bots spreading fake news.
A Psychologist’s understanding of AI
He is drawing comparisons to Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. This was a book that I read in 2022 and found delightful insights. So, Tomas is sharing both philosophical insights and practical advice readers should embrace in our emerging AI-driven world. He is also addressing the ethical and psychological implications of AI systems. This is leading the reader to understand how society can adapt or thrive when your live is driven by algorithms. To be fair the 2023 publishing date of this book is perhaps before the enormous impact of ChatGPT.
I would very much recommend Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari:
Tomas is guiding users to reclaim ‘ownership’ of themselves rather than allow algorithms to make the decisions for us. This will not be an easy task, and is already perhaps a lost cause. He asks that you embrace your unique traits and hold onto them in the face of increasing technology dependance by seemingly everyone and everything. In fact, he suggests we double down on our individuality.
While AI certainly can improve our lives, it will also draw out negative outcomes including distraction, data bias, and impatience by today’s youth who expect everything to be delivered to their mobile devices instantly. If we as a society do not audit AI, we risk falling into behaviors that are indeed machine like. Yet at the same time, Tomas states this type of future is not certain. The Psychologist in him reveals that we all need to be our ourselves with all the unique habits that make us all human and to be curious and empathetic to others.
In conclusion, Tomas provides an interesting book and a welcoming view of how AI will shape our world from a perspective of the individual.