We — myself included — stand at the threshold, if not already beyond it, of a point of no return in the technological revolution. The pace of these changes has surpassed our collective capacity to comprehend them — and this, perhaps, is the greatest challenge. Artificial intelligence driving these tectonic shifts is fundamentally changing the rules of the game: it does not merely automate routine tasks, but presents an existential challenge to the very essence of our human uniqueness and presumed irreplaceability. Are we really heading towards a world where the line between humans and machines is being erased before our eyes?
As a futurologist, my job is not to deliver the “one true prediction” (that’s for fortune-tellers), but rather to provoke dialogue and reflection on the consequences of the choices we make today. AI is, in essence, a powerful mirror which reflects our ambitions, fears, and flaws. It forces us to ask very uncomfortable questions.
Agency or the illusion of choice – this, in my view, is the first dilemma. Who is really making decisions — us, or the algorithms that increasingly permeate our lives, offering “optimal” paths for everything from choosing a movie to defining a life strategy? Are we facing a gradual erosion of free will, becoming mere consumers of “optimized” decisions carefully crafted by the machines?
The second one is: the value of a human or “efficient” void? If AI can outperform us in routine tasks, analysis, and even creativity, what is it then that defines human uniqueness? An existential void and the devaluation of human labor are no longer just dystopian tropes — they are plausible outcomes if we fail to find new foundations for our self-identity. How do we “stay human” in a rapidly changing reality?
And finally, the third and, perhaps, the most complex dilemma is: ethics and the boundaries of the permissible. How do we embed ethics into code when we ourselves are far from being in accord in our moral judgments? Whose values will form the foundation of machine “thinking,” especially given that the data these systems learn from already carry the imprint of our biases? The issues regarding responsibility for autonomous systems’ actions, potential rights of robots, and the blurring line between the biological and the artificial — these are the topics that demand urgent discussion. The sooner, the better.
The key challenge for us is to consciously chart a course that preserves our humanity and fundamental values. Even seemingly minor things — like showing basic politeness to AI or “wiping our feet” before entering the digital world — can become markers of our commitment to staying human.
These are the difficult and vitally important issues — where I, like many others, have more questions than answers — that we will explore during the panel discussion “I, Robot? Experts on Humanity's Place in the New Technological Reality”. Together with leading experts, we will aim not so much to predict the future but to reflect on various scenarios and how we might influence them.
I invite you to join this dialogue — because our shared goal is not merely to find out what’s coming, but to actively participate in understanding and shaping it, so that we can steer the future toward a better scenario. I sincerely hope this conversation will “live beyond this hour,” inspiring each of us to reflect further — and, perhaps, to act.
