Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
I worked on the road crew for my local township for two summers while in college. I learned a lot of skills during those two summers — driving a 12-speed dump truck, laying asphalt, operating all kinds of machinery, and making road signs. These were fun and interesting skills to learn, but I haven’t used most of them since.
I did, however, gain a bunch of wisdom that I apply every day — maintain your machines, find a rhythm of work and rest, the benefit of shooting the crap together, and your job doesn’t have to be your purpose in life.
But the big one was, “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.”
“You can claim ‘not my job,’ but should you?”
“You can lean on your shovel while others work, but should you?”
“You can cut corners, but should you?”
ChatGPT defines wisdom as follows:
Wisdom is a combination of knowledge, experience, and good judgment. It is the ability to make sound decisions and give advice based on a deep understanding of the world and people. A wise person is someone who has gained insight and understanding through experience and reflection, and can apply that knowledge to navigate difficult situations, solve problems, and help others.
ChatGPT
No doubt AI will acquire the knowledge and skills to do just about anything we can do and do it better.
But would an AI ever think to itself, “I can, but should I?”
