"Artificial Intelligence vs. Individualism"

 Title of the photo: “Man In Casual Dress Who Is Ignorant of AI”

 

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The refusal of allies like Germany, Japan and Australia to aid in the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz reminds me of the American fable, “The Little Red Hen.” Once it is re-opened, and it will be re-opened, I am sure they will want to be included in the safe passage of oil and gas. And it is my guess that President Trump will be more forgiving than the Little Red Hen.

 

At a time when partisanship runs high, I was pleased that Democrats David Boies, Mark Penn and Andrew Stein wrote two op-eds for The Wall Street Journal over the past few days, each calling out the danger and risk of extreme partisanship on the part of politicians and the media at a time when the U.S. is at war with Iran: “Partisanship on Iran is Dangerous” by Boies on March 13, and “On Iran, Is Only Bad News Fit to Print?” by Penn and Stein on March 17. It is healthy to criticize politicians and their policies, but Trump Derangement Syndrome has rendered criticism of the President by those politicians and reporters who manifest its symptoms unintelligible and harmful to our national interests.

 

I support the decision to attack Iran. When a fanatical leader who promised ‘Death to America’ and who leads a regime that pursued nuclear weapons with missiles capable of carrying them thousands of miles, pre-emption is preferred to retaliation.

 

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As for AI, I may be Panglossian about its threats. like it or not it is here to stay. No one can forecast the future. This is but one man’s opinion.

 

Sydney M. Williams

 

Thought of the Day

“Artificial Intelligence vs. Individualism”

March 18, 2026

 

“Metacognitive skills will be very important – flexibility, adaptability, experimentation, thinking

critically, being able to challenge things...For that, a traditional liberal arts education is really important.”

                                                                                Jaime Teevan

                                                                                Chief Scientist and Technical Fellow, Microsoft

                                                                                As quoted in The Wall Street Journal, March 4, 2026

                                                                                “What AI Bosses Advise Their Kids About Jobs,” Lauren Weber

 

If the adjective ‘metacognitive’ is for you as unfamiliar, as it was for me, here is the definition provided by Google for the noun Metacognition: “Often described as ‘thinking about your thinking.’ It involves understanding your own thought processes and using that awareness to direct your learning.” It sounds to me that if one has ‘metacognitive skills’ they have basically mastered the art of critical thinking.

 

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No one can tell you what the specific consequences of AI will be on employment and on lives. What can be said is that there will be ramifications. Some – perhaps many – will be negative for the employment of large numbers of people. What also can be said is that this is not the first time mankind has faced revolutionary changes. Consider those wrought by the Industrial Revolution, which saw the shift from hand/home-based production and small shops to machines and large factories – factories initially powered by coal and steam and now by natural gas, nuclear and renewables. It was a revolution that began in England in the late 18^th Century and has persisted through the current day. People adapted. Thus, we should take comfort as we look to this next stage. Despite the displacement of millions of jobs, employment and living standards increased over the last two hundred and fifty years. According to ScienceDirect.com, between 80% and 90% of the world’s population lived in “extreme poverty” in the late 18^th Century. Today the World Bank puts that number at less than ten percent.

 

That is not to say we should be blithely unconcerned about the changes that will be wrought as artificial intelligence becomes ubiquitous. We need to know its cost, the effects on existing businesses, and the opportunities it will create.

 

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Charles Darwin argued persuasively in The Descent of Man and On the Origin of Species that we have common ancestry with apes, and that all living creatures evolved from a single-celled organism. However, somewhere along the line, man became differentiated from other animals – in his capacity to think critically, to reason abstractly, in his sense of morality and ability to empathize, in his ability to plan for the future, to conceptualize, to be curious and creative. Whether that was natural selection or divine intervention, I leave to others. AI is a creation of the curious and creative. But will a machine ever have those qualities attributed to men and women? I don’t think so.

 

Lauren Weber interviewed five individuals for the Journal article quoted in the epigraph above. They all recognized that rote/routine jobs are at risk; so they emphasized the importance of critical thinking and the need for humanities, both provided by a liberal arts education – now “more than ever,” according to Ethan Mollick, management professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Similarly, in the March 9, 2026 issue of The Spectator, Eamonn Butler, the British economist and co-founder of the Adam Smith Institute, wrote: “...AI augments (emphasis mine) human capabilities, creates demand for new skills in oversight, ethics and creative applications, and drives productivity gains that fuel economic expansion.” In 2025, most of our GDP growth came from productivity gains. It was not technological change that concerned Adam Smith, it was mercantilism and the protectionism it fosters. “Why,” Mr. Mr. Butler wrote, “try to make wine in rainy Scotland, when you can buy it for a thirtieth of the price from sunny France?” What would concern Adam Smith today is the scale of government: “To him, the core functions of government were defense, the administration of justice, and the provisions [that] limited the number of public goods, mostly for infrastructure, which made trade and commerce and thus wealth creation easier.” With total U.S. government spending approaching 38% of GDP in 2025, Adam Smith would be aghast.  

 

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Change is a constant. In the past, technological change eliminated many jobs but created millions more. Will AI replace many current jobs? Certainly. But think of the past. It helps one see the future. Steamships replaced sailing vessels; trains, autos, airplanes revolutionized travel; lap-top and desk-top computers did away with typewriters. When was the last time you saw a switchboard operator or an elevator man? In this time of AI’s infancy we know jobs will be lost. What we don’t know is what new industries and jobs will be created.

 

My biggest worry about AI is how it will be used by scammers. And I worry that government, in regulating it, might impose limits on individual rights. Skepticism is warranted. But I do not fear AI. Of course I am not twenty-five, just starting a job. If I were, I would try to understand how it might be utilized to improve my life. Nevertheless, it is here and will become more complex over time. Embrace it. If it becomes frightening, turn off its power source or remove its battery.[1] I have always thought Peter Drucker (1909-2005) a wise man. A quote attributed to him sums up his philosophy: “To get at the new and better, you have to throw out the old, outworn and obsolete...” He would embrace AI.

 

According to the Worldometer there are 8.3 billion people on Earth. Each has distinct, individual traits, along with strengths and weaknesses. Among them are scientists and artists, musicians and carpenters, lawyers and plumbers, farmers and bankers. They are athletes, poets, actresses and actors. Scattered among them are a few who are evil, but more who are good. Can AI replace them and their dreams? No. So long as our rights, embedded in our Constitution, are honored, the individual will survive and thrive.

 

 

 

 

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[1] As solar-paneled-fueled data centers get placed in space (think SpaceX, Project Suncatcher and Stoke Space), with full access to net-worked computers on Earth, that may not be possible.