Looking to the Future

As I wrap up my junior year of high school, I find myself looking back on the time I've spent on the Earth so far and take some time to reflect on what's next for me. Am I ready? Do I know what I want to do? What will life be like for me 30 years from now?

These are just some of the questions that fill my mind. As a 17-year-old going into my senior year of high school, my eyes are set on college… and I can't help but worry that I'm not ready for it. I can't help but worry I'm not ready for the technological revolution I'm stepping into. There are 8 billion people on this planet, and that number isn't showing signs of stopping in its growth. Every year, the world grows more competitive. Resources are split among an increasingly large group of people, who, for the most part, are equally deserving of them. And when I really think about that, I can't help but feel, as someone lucky enough to get the silver spoon in life, that I've wasted it. I think about how many "could've, would've, should've" moments I've had throughout high school. So many activities I could have done, so many awards I should have won, just… so much stuff I regret not pursuing. So much stuff that would make me even more prepared for this brave new world. My parents are avid believers of the philosophy to not have any regrets, but when you put that in practice, particularly for an irrational 17-year-old, it's kind of hard to get behind that. Now, it's not debatable that I might regret some of the things I've done or the choices I've made, but I can't ignore that without those decisions, I would not be the person I am today. Instead of wallowing deeper into this pool of self-pity I've created, I should move on. Give it an "oh well" and keep moving forward.

A large part of me thinks about college, and says, okay, great. But… what happens to me after that? As an aspiring STEM major, particularly in the computer science area, life is really scary right now. We're at a crossroads where no one really knows how far AI is going to take us. Automation is basically eating up every entry level job imaginable. Questions must be asked - questions like…
"are young people like me going to be able to train for the workforce without those opportunities?"
"What happens when AI doesn't need a human to be effective?"

Generative AI has been present in pop culture for a while. Think of famous characters in Star Trek like Lt. Cmdr. Data, a sentient android capable of high-level thought that is also intertwined with emotion. Or perhaps, the droids from Star Wars. It's hard to think that not 5 years ago, we would never dream that such creations were even possible. Yet, with the rapidly accelerating development of large-language models, I can't help feel that such machines are closer to us than ever.

Many people think of these innovations as replacements for humans - and I won't deny that, for the most part, AI is going to replace quite a few jobs. But there is a space that really can't be replaced - the jobs that aren't automatable. Think research; creativity; something along the lines of think thanks. Furthermore, at least at the moment, AI still needs a guiding hand from us. It needs direction from highly trained individuals. Knowledge, regardless of what kind of knowledge it is, is invaluable when you have a depth of it. AI is not changing that. In fact, AI is making that even more of a desirable trait. If we don't have people to make sure what an AI's doing is actually right, we risk digging ourselves into a pit of "AI slop" and surrounding ourselves with inefficient or nonworking infrastructure. A truly scary thought, but it's already been proven to be pretty ineffective today. Companies are constantly getting called out for their use of AI without guidance. "It's cheaper, so it must be better (for us suits)" seems to be the mentality they all share. But, I digress. The point is - knowledge is still valuable. I don't think it will ever stop being so, but… people really need to stop being so cynical about this stuff! Giving up is, and will never be, the answer. People who resent AI for taking their jobs, should frankly, as me and my friends would say, lock in.

I look to the future with a cautiously optimistic face. Despite all my anxiety and doubts about going into college next year, what the reality is - what I must keep telling myself - is that it will be okay. As my mom says, "just put your head down and grind."