(Nikolaus Skene)gfdgfg
It’s a phrase I’ve come to hear frequently in conversations all over the world: ‘I’d rather talk to people than to AI.’ It’s often followed by something like: ‘I need real interaction.’ That sounds understandable – and yet it falls short. Functionally, this statement is more akin to remarks such as: “I’d rather talk to Italians than to the French” or “I’d rather talk to colleagues in my industry.” It is a preference, not a truth.
For today, alongside the human population, there exists a second layer: a digital conversational infrastructure comprising billions of models. Nat Friedman calls it ‘AI Atlantis’ – a kind of new civilisation that is accessible at all times and can reflect thoughts from countless perspectives. It has no feelings and no body, but it can think alongside us. And it does so faster and more comprehensively than human communication can manage.
When people say, “I’d rather talk to people,” they often mean something else: the worry that this new kind of interlocutor might trigger something they do not yet understand. This nervousness is understandable. Nevertheless, a fundamental question arises: why should we limit ourselves to just one kind of conversation partner? When we want to explore an idea in greater depth, we usually talk to different people – friends, experts, critics, chance acquaintances. Why, of all things, should the greatest new intellectual capacity of our century be left out?
Humans and AI are not alternatives, but complements. Some lines of thought require warmth – whilst others demand distance. For some topics, a human perspective is indispensable; for others, a precise, impartial analysis is helpful. AI does not replace the human element, but it expands the space in which we can think.
AI Atlantis is not a substitute for relationships, but a new continent of perspectives. Every technological turning point has brought forth new conversation partners: books, libraries, universities, and later the internet. AI is the first infrastructure that actively responds – not perfectly, but certainly not in silence either.
The crucial question, then, is not whether we should talk to AI, but whether we wish to deliberately limit our own landscape of thought. Conversations with AI do not replace anything, but they can bring depth where routine prevails, and breadth where we are stuck. They can challenge us where we expect confirmation, and they sometimes show us just how narrow our own patterns have become.
‘I’d rather talk to people’ is an understandable sentiment, but not a sound argument. We are already living in an age where humanity and digital systems think together. Not better, not worse – but significantly different. AI Atlantis is not a replacement for humanity. And AI should never be humanised. Yet AI is an invitation to think bigger. And having more perspectives has never done any harm.
About the author
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Niki Skene has been organising strategy tours and fact-finding missions since 2012 in innovation hubs such as Silicon Valley, New York, London, Tel Aviv, Dubai and Shenzhen/Hong Kong. On 213 of these tours, he has held over 3,000 conversations with people working on the technology of the coming decades. Prior to this, Skene spent six years as a TEDx Ambassador and Faculty Coach at Singularity University, where he developed a deep understanding of the dynamics of exponential change. www.siliconvalleyinspirationtours.com