AI Is Not a Tool

AI is not a tool. It is a serious and common mistake to view AI as just another tool.

"Like all tools, it has its pros and cons. It brings about radical changes, but we'll adapt." This cliché was true for previous technologies. But it isn’t necessarily true for AI.

A tool extends the human body or perception through our will.

AI is radically different because it is autonomous and ever-changing.

Let me explain.

AI can be used as a specific tool (when I use it, for example, as a dictionary).

But traditional technologies lack cognitive processes: they do not perceive, evaluate, or solve problems. They do not choose strategies; they do not make decisions. Unlike any other tool in the history of technology, AI possesses varying degrees of autonomy. It is much more like a human (or an alien or a slave) than a tool.

But beyond that, AI can change, improve itself, and even alter part of its nature. Tools don't do that.

Why is it important to understand that AI is not a tool? Because it generates simplistic answers that erroneously extrapolate from the history of technology.

We won't necessarily "adapt" to AI the way we've adapted to disruptive technologies in the past.

Mind you, I'm not saying that won't happen (I doubt anyone knows what's going to happen). I'm simply saying that viewing AI as a tool is an oversimplification that gives us a false sense of security and prevents us from seriously analyzing its impact.

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