Deep Thinking

Deep Thinking is a recap of the past fifty years of the information revolution and an attempt to identify where AI technology may lead us.

In the casual conversations about AI and the overall tech development, one point comes up quite often. What good does technological advancement bring us if computers “steal” human labor?

Kasparov points out that we forget that has had this conversation before. Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, the dispute about whether or not new technologies benefit society has been ongoing. Fear drives the discussion that once we have good enough machines, human contribution will no longer be needed.

But history teaches us that we don’t need to worry about technology overthrowing humans.

In the 19th century, even after the invention of the steam engine and electricity, human input remained valuable. The same happened after the 1960s and 70s debates when further technological refinements like computers appeared to undermine the need for human labor. At the beginning of the 21st century, we are having the same conversation all over again, this time with the Internet and AI being the “villains.”

But if we look back at the historical big picture, there is no doubt that technology made human lives better. It took a significant portion of the toil from human shoulders, while at the same time enabling the refinement of our culture and civilization. It also brought about ideas such as human rights and equity.

Kasparov says that today, we shouldn’t fear the computers taking over our jobs. Instead, we should focus on how to adapt our society to the new reality.

For centuries, playing chess was a human-only activity. A complex game like this required a high level of intellect that no other animal possessed. But the skill needed to play chess is not just about processing information and having a good strategy. Intelligence is also about psychological and emotional endurance. Or at least it used to before the computers joined the game. The psychological aspect of chess explains why we commonly treat it as a sport. Even though it doesn’t require much physical stamina, the emotional turmoil during a game often causes players to come out exhausted, as if they just finished a long run. Kasparov analyzed numerous games of the world’s leading chess players and found that they make surprisingly many tactical mistakes. That’s not because they don’t know how to play better. Those mistakes mostly happen due to the psychological disadvantage those players have in relation to their opponent. When a human plays chess against another human, the game is not entirely about strategy. Some moves work merely because they make the opponent feel uncomfortable. But this kind of tactic could…