Why are we obsessed with finding the perfect metaphor for the AI age?

Part 1 in "Great, AI is coming, now what do I do?"

Have you gotten the AI revolution bingo yet? I mean, have you read the article on how AI is the new steam engine, lightbulb, Internet, etc? The metaphor may seem overdone at this point, but there is a reason this mental device gets so much love — we are wired to seek comfort and certainty in the face of change. Historically, societies have weathered significant paradigm shifts by coming together and agreeing, that "car=horseless carriage", "TV=radio with pictures", "Internet=information superhighway", or "blockchain=digital ledger". These notions let us feel in the sweet-sweet control once again.

True impact takes time to become visible, and though we can enjoy numerous nicely written "AI is just like blank" posts, I doubt that any feeling of control is justified. Take, for example, the impact of the Internet on human societies. The jury is still out on scope and scale, and many might say we underestimated its effects at the outset. Compared to the shocks of steam engine or electricity, the Internet's impact has burst the banks of its genesis metaphor. Can we hope "AI=digital brain" won't do the same or go further?

Part 1 of the series "Great, AI is coming, now what do I do?" approaches this question with a beautiful framework of an 👹 existential crisis showdown 👹 . We will briefly examine some of humanity's most-referenced (r)evolutionary leaps from the Copernican revolution to the beginning of the AI wave. What challenges ⚠️ did these seismic shifts pose? How did humanity cope 🤗 with them? And, most importantly, have we ever confronted an existential challenge this unsettling before?

.. dramatic music plays as we go back in time..

1. Copernican Revolution (16th Century)
We begin in the 1500s when Copernicus first proposed that the Earth revolves around the sun. He met significant resistance in doing so, but his theory ultimately displaced humanity as the center of the universe.

⚠️ Challenge: the long-held belief that we were the focal point of divine creation (there is much more to be said here, but that's for another time) was shaken. The new heliocentric model made us recognize that we are not as significant in the cosmic order as we once thought. Humans had to face the uncomfortable thought that we are just a tiny part of a vast, indifferent universe.

🤗 Coping mechanism: after some understandable anguish, we learned to use the new model to explore our surroundings further. We channeled fear of the unknown into excitement about growing scientific knowledge and progress and ultimately found new meaning to our otherwise small position in a much larger whole.

👹 Existential crisis showdown — Copernican vs. AI Revolution:

So, how does the shift brought on by the Copernican revolution stack up against the looming challenges of AI? I purposefully leave out the spiritual component in this comparison, as it is far too important not to analyze in greater depth, and without this factor in play, AI wins. Religion aside, we found ourselves facing the unknown cosmos, but far away. With AI, we are challenged not at a distance but on our comfortable Earth. Rather than cosmic centricity, we are facing the potential loss of intellectual centrality — and, with it, the authority to pilot our future endeavors.

2. Industrial Revolution + Electricity (18th — 19th Century)

Jump ahead a few centuries, and we find the Industrial Revolution and electrification replacing the human muscle with machines. These two advancements changed all 24 hours of our daily lives. The working day was extended, but so was time available for recreation. The advent of mass production perturbed the economic setup, and inventions in electronics opened doors to instant communication, automation, and new depths of complexity.

⚠️ Challenge: physical labor was no longer the primary engine of creation. This shift created widespread anxiety, as workers feared losing their jobs and relevance in a fast-paced, electrified, and machine-driven world.

🤗 Coping mechanism: over time, we found value in automation, recognizing that the effects of industrialization could free us from menial tasks and allow us to focus on more creative and intellectual pursuits.

👹 Existential crisis showdown — Industrial revolution + Electricity vs. AI

There is a relatively straightforward similarity, as AI now challenges our cognitive labor vs physical labor of the time, but this one also goes to AI. The reason lies in the domain specifics —the physical realm is more accessible to perceive, quantify, and detach from (at least in economic terms). In contrast, the cognitive realm is inescapable (let's not mention the wonders of modern drugs just yet). Machines & electrification replaced us primarily in production and service areas, while AI's encroachment threatens tasks and abilities held much more dear - like relationship building and many creative domains. And that, in turn, challenges the social & emotional value-add monopoly that has made humans unique up to this point.

3. Freudian Revolution (Late 19th–20th Century)
Sigmund Freud's work in psychology gave rise to the idea that our actions are driven by subconscious desires and internal conflicts rather than purely rational thought. This radical approach profoundly altered our self-image and challenged the Enlightenment view of humans as entirely logical beings.

⚠️ Challenge: human identity is no longer governed solely by conscious thought, making our once clear motivations mysterious and complex, driven by forces often beyond our control.

🤗 Coping mechanism: we reluctantly grew to accept that we are not always in command of our minds, sharing this authority with hidden desires and fears. Though initially threatening, this newfound self-awareness allowed us to attempt harnessing these irrationalities to our benefit.

👹 Existential crisis showdown — Freud vs. AI :

You'd expect the "you are not the boss" type of revelation to lead to a tremendous social upheaval. However, humans remained mostly unaware or unwilling to recognize this revolution. So, by our sheer love of denial, AI wins this round, too.

A delightful irony lies in the fact that AI can also be considered subconscious (albeit external), processing vast amounts of information and providing insights parallel to our conscious state. But remember, we acknowledged our love of control. As long as this secret force is hidden inside, it is ours to cherish, master, and thus not to be feared. We favor our obscure decider over the separated interface of AI. What does it teach us? If AI becomes too difficult to distinguish from our thoughts, we will likely succumb without resistance, as it will feel almost natural.

4. Internet Revolution (Late 20th Century)
Fast forward, and we are now in a time most of you experienced in person. The Internet revolution of the late 20th and early 21st centuries fundamentally transformed how we search and perceive information, form and share opinions, interact and create culture, build communities, and do business.

⚠️ Challenge: human communication and access to knowledge became instantaneous and uncontrollable. Broad internet access also stretched geographic, social, ethical, and legal frameworks for how societies govern and manage themselves, uncovering and amplifying risks in every aspect of life.

🤗 Coping mechanism: we embraced the Internet—partly because it enhanced our ability to connect, collaborate, and innovate and also because we did not have much choice. Governmental efforts to restrict and control the information free-for-all are taking place extremely late, indicating that we as a society experienced this revolution as more of a flood rather than a day at the beach.

👹 Existential crisis showdown — Internet vs. AI Revolution:

So far, in our showdown, the Internet has the best chance for a tie. The jury is still out on its long-term effects, but I put my money on AI. Even though the adverse societal and psychological consequences of the Internet are numerous (identity theft, cybercrime, or mass surveillance), they remain non-existent because they are still external to the human self. Even though the 'out of control' Internet might seem tame compared to the aftermath of AI, in my opinion, the media-beloved 'runaway' scenario is unlikely. In case I am wrong — we potentially face the wholesale breakdown of crucial components of human experience — our intellectual dominance on Earth and our ability to feel unique. (To tone down the dramatic effect, one could use the definition-bursting example of the Internet and attempt to predict the areas most prone to AI's "sporadic adoption" driven by the absence of other solutions).

5. Cognitive Revolution (70,000 years ago)

…Hey, now we are going backward in time — how come? Other revolutions don't seem to cut it, so let's search for the most fitting analog in much older history. The Cognitive Revolution manifested in the evolved complex language and abstract thinking, allowing humans to collaborate in large groups and share stories, shaping how we know society today. The birth of human imagination and symbolic thought allowed us to cooperate and innovate at levels unmatched in the natural world.

👹 Existential crisis showdown — Cognitive vs. AI Revolution:

Now, let's truncate the format for this final comparison. The cognitive revolution is not about augmentation or extension of human abilities but rather a fundamentally new way of existing for homo sapiens. As it unfolded slowly over centuries, it could only be perceived and processed in a limited way. We are now dealing with a similar scale of change, but instead of adapting to such a shift over generations, we are forced to drink from a fire hose. So, in an existential crisis showdown between the birth of cognition and the AI revolution, I will declare… a tie! 🔔 Here, we have a worthy opponent for the significant changes that stand before us — whatever our speed of perception is.

Conclusions

We have examined a handful of societal shocks and manners of adaptation. With each great leap forward, our place in the natural order gets revised, forcing compromises along the way to adapt and thrive. We devalued previously significant qualities, hoping that new ones would enable us to stay on top—' no longer the strongest, but still the smartest' — 'no longer the fastest, but the most creative.' These reassurances came at a price but helped us move forward.

Again, we are at a juncture, but the stakes appear higher than in recent episodes. What will we give up to retain our sense of value and human agency (perceived or otherwise)? What will we hold onto at all costs? It is not only a personal question for politicians, business decision-makers, or individuals with otherwise considerable reach/influence.

If you have a say in where and how AI enters at scale — are you ready for this responsibility?

Perhaps it is a little cliché to end an AI-themed post with 'know thyself,' but "human qualities we choose to value and protect will shape the new world" is no longer a line from a sci-fi book. What part of your humanity are you willing to trade for progress? The future is coming fast, and unfortunately, we might already be in a race with AI, where the first one to answer this question wins all.

Stay tuned for Part 2: "How to get ahead in AI upskilling"