AI and the Hidden Price of Comfort For as long as humans have existed, struggle has been part of life. We solved problems, took action, and grew stronger through effort. But today, we’re steadily moving into a world where machines do that work for us. The real danger of AI...
I recently gave a TEDx talk titled “AI and the Hidden Price of Comfort”. It’s not about AGI doom, but about something more subtle: how removing struggle and effort through automation might strip life of meaning. I touch on psychology (MIT’s “Your Brain on ChatGPT” study), philosophy (Nietzsche), and experiments...
exactly :) Our current life was science fiction 20-30-50 years ago. Just the other day I looked at a desk phone that I have with a small video monitor on it and thought, OMG I don't realize that this was sci-fi in "The Jetsons" when I watched it as a kid not so long ago (I wish). Someone calling you and you can see him/her on the screen. WOW
Hello Raphael,
thanks you for your feedback. I think it is very personal on how we will take the future and how each of us will adapt. Same as we use cars today. Of course I would use my car to get to the grocery store and wont walk there as that innovation saves me time and effort. But that does not mean I wont go to the gym or exercise in a different way to compensate for the fact that I am not moving as much as I would do if there were no cars.
There are kids, sitting on the sofa with the phone in their hand and there are others who are very actively living. Again a personal choice that each one of us will have to make :) Adapt to new technology, but not fall in the trap of becoming lazy because of it.
All the best,
Nik
Hello datawitch, I absolutely agree that this perfect world is quite boring and that is what one of the concerns are. However, how we will react to the coming future will be very personal. Some of us might be excited by it (I myself am very much, as in my day job I work towards evolving the AI and automation) others might fall into the laziness trap if the work is being done for them.
I also agree with you on the fact that if AI or automation does the chores this will give us more time for other things, think of the moment, which inevitably will come, where even the "other more... (read more)
AI and the Hidden Price of Comfort
For as long as humans have existed, struggle has been part of life. We solved problems, took action, and grew stronger through effort. But today, we’re steadily moving into a world where machines do that work for us. The real danger of AI may not be takeover or catastrophe — but the quiet removal of struggle itself.
This was the focus of my TEDx Folsom talk in August. My claim is simple: if we smooth away all effort, we risk losing the very thing that makes us human.
Why share this here? Because LessWrong is a community that looks beyond headlines and hype. You ask not just whether... (read 1966 more words →)
I recently gave a TEDx talk titled “AI and the Hidden Price of Comfort”.
It’s not about AGI doom, but about something more subtle: how removing struggle and effort through automation might strip life of meaning.
I touch on psychology (MIT’s “Your Brain on ChatGPT” study), philosophy (Nietzsche), and experiments like Universe-25
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK0-2ZakDyI
Summary:
The talk begins with a vision of 2050: a paradise of comfort where AI handles everything. But I argue that by outsourcing all effort, we risk losing struggle — and with it, growth, purpose, and meaning. I explore how this plays out at the individual level (boredom, passivity), and at the societal level (a world where humans are no longer needed for work).
For those who prefer reading, the full transcript (PDF) is available here:
LINK
Discussion:
What strategies could individuals and societies use to preserve purpose in an automated future?
Do you see comfort as liberation — or as a hidden risk to meaning?
Hello Viliam,
wonderful comment thank you! I am impressed with the depth of your analysis and obviously you red this in its seriousness. I love discussing with minds like yours!
I will fully agree that it will and even today is a 100% personal choice. Some choose to eat chocolate all day, others to eat healthy. Some go to the gym and keep in good shape, others don't. Some waste (or lets say spend) their lives without being curious and keeping very short sight of what is around them.
This talk/transcript of a talk is not anti AI. I am fascinated by the technology and am using it in all kinds of way. It had... (read more)