The Age of AGI: The Chilling Questions Posed by 'Brave New World'
Henry Kim ·
"In controlled comfort, can we truly be autonomous humans?"
I picked up Aldous Huxley's novel again. It depicts people who experience only happiness, granted by drugs and brainwashing, devoid of pain or conflict. In the past, it was merely an interesting dystopia, but now, as the mast of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) emerges on the horizon, this book reads like a chilling prophecy.
Soon, the moment will come when machines replace human intellectual labor. Like the 'bread and circuses' of Roman times, we might live intoxicated by the 'bread' of universal basic income and the 'circuses' of AI-generated, infinite entertainment. In a 'techno-feudal' society dominated by a tiny minority who own the technology, the majority might lose the ladder of self-realization and consume their lives relying on the vicarious satisfaction fed to them by algorithms.
The real fear is not a war with robots. It is the disappearance of our 'agency.' Because Superintelligence (ASI) knows us so well, it will 'gaslight' us onto only the most rational paths, saying things like, "You can't order late-night snacks for your health," or "Don't attempt that challenge; the probability of failure is too high." A life without the freedom to fail, without the freedom to make foolish mistakes—that is the life of a protected 'child,' not the life of a responsible 'adult.'
In a world where machines do everything for us, we must ask ourselves again: Will we call the safe pleasures designed by algorithms 'happiness,' or will we choose the pain of forging our own path through life, even if it means getting hurt? Before the colossal wave of AGI, the golden hour to redefine what it means to be human is now.