AI insults
Human self-image
Humans have pride. We maintain a certain image of ourselves, and when that image is challenged, it evokes discomfort—even pain. Throughout history, our self-image has repeatedly been dismantled, each time triggering profound emotional and philosophical unrest. These moments can be described as fundamental insults to our identity.
Freud descibed three extreme ones. One of the earliest was the Copernican insult: the realization that we are not at the center of the universe. Rather, we inhabit a tiny planet orbiting an ordinary star in a vast, indifferent cosmos. Then came the Darwinian insult, which revealed that we were not divinely created in our current form, but are the result of a long process of evolution—just one species among many. The Freudian insult followed, showing that we are not even masters in our own minds: much of what drives us lies hidden in the subconscious.
This framework has been extended, identifying even more of these existential blows—each one shaking our assumptions about human uniqueness and centrality.
Now, we enter the era of artificial intelligence, which may deliver the next great insult. How will our pride be insulted through AI.
Workwise
The elimination or alteration of jobs is not something new in history. While also associated positively in the sense of economic growth for the people behind the job it is a tragedy. While we often associate the ludites in the 18th footnote with backward thinking, we often forget that they were very skillfull - a skill society in general does not honor very much.
An interesting example is chess. We all know that not even the best chess player of all time stands a chance against a chess programm. However, the chess community … fact.
skills
AI is beginning to demonstrate that intelligence and creativity are not uniquely human traits. We are creating machines that can outperform us in areas we once believed sacred—poetry, problem-solving, invention. The idea that our intelligence might “put a dent in the universe” is starting to feel outdated. As AI advances, human power and significance may seem to diminish, especially in the realm of self-image.
And perhaps most disconcerting: AI might challenge our belief that we are especially empathetic or emotionally profound. If machines begin to convincingly simulate empathy, or even understand it better than we do, where does that leave our sense of emotional superiority?
In facing this new insult, we may once again be forced to reconsider what it truly means to be human.