The AI Dream We Let Die (Why Humans?)

Remember all that hopeful talk about Artificial Intelligence? The grand presentations about a better world for everyone? AI was supposed to cure diseases, solve climate change, make life easier, safer, and fairer for us all. It was the shiny, bright future on the horizon.

Well, if you've been paying attention, that discussion is pretty much dead. Vanished. Gone.

Today, the big news isn't about AI saving lives in remote villages or balancing the global economy. It's about tech billionaires, like Mark Zuckerberg, throwing around billions of dollars to snag the smartest AI minds on the planet. Billions, mind you, not for universal healthcare algorithms or climate disaster prediction tools, but for companies whose bottom line is… well, billions more dollars. Actually, something in their minds about the first trillion dollar valuation or something? Poor human beings, they never have enough.

So, where did all that idealism go?

It went exactly where any keen observer of humanity knew it would. It went to the money.

You see, these brilliant minds, the ones who probably started out dreaming of making a genuine difference, suddenly found themselves in a gold rush. And when you're presented with a mountain of cash, a fancy title, and the chance to be at the "forefront" of a new industry, the grand visions of saving humanity tend to shrink. Fast.

It's a stark, simple truth, isn't it? We, as humans, are wired for certain things. Ego. Individual gain. The accumulation of wealth. And in cultures like America, where the chase for the dollar is practically a religion, it's even more intense. The "better world for all" often gets quietly exchanged for a bigger house for one, a fatter bank account, or the thrill of being on the "winning" team.

This isn't about blaming individuals entirely. It's about how deeply ingrained these motivations are in our species, and how easily they can derail even the most promising endeavors. We had a chance, with AI, to perhaps rise above our usual squabbles and truly build something for the collective good. 

Hell no. That´s too much to ask. Instead, we're watching the future of AI, a technology that will profoundly shape everyone's lives on this planet, being decided by a handful of people driven by the oldest, most predictable human instincts. They can't control the future, yet they're making decisions that will affect every single one of us. And all the grand talk about ethics, safety, and minority concerns? Mostly just noise in the background as the cash registers ring.

It’s a sad, predictable end to a potentially revolutionary beginning. And it's a stark reminder that no matter how advanced our tools become, the messy, self-serving core of human nature remains firmly in the driver's seat.

Ancient Wisdom

It turns out, the old folks knew us pretty well. From across the millennia and continents, wise voices echoed this very sadness about our species.

The Romans famously said, "Homo homini lupus est" - Man is wolf to man. They knew we could be our own worst enemies, driven by raw self-interest.

The Greeks warned of "Philautia", an unhealthy self-love, a conceit that pushes personal desire above all else.

In the wisdom of ancient Egypt, preserved in texts like "The Instruction of Ptahhotep," they warned against the "great of belly" - the greedy and covetous heart - understanding that "He whose heart obeys his belly, puts contempt of himself in place of love."

Even in Mesopotamia, though not a single phrase, their proverbs consistently show the predictable outcomes of those consumed by pride and deceit, the emptiness of a life lived only for accumulation.

From India, the ancient Puranas describe greed (cupiditas) as a destructive force, "humanity's greatest enemy," leading to sinful acts and betrayal. It is seen as an insatiable desire that leads to downfall.

In China, the philosopher Xunzi argued that "A person is born with a liking for profit. If he gives way to this, it will lead him to quarrels and conflicts, and any possessed sense of courtesy and humility will be abandoned." He believed goodness had to be cultivated, because our raw nature tends towards selfishness.

Among the Kogui people of Colombia, and other indigenous wisdom traditions like the Maya or Native Americans across the vast continent, the emphasis is almost universally on the sacred balance of nature and the community. Greed, excessive individualism, and the pursuit of wealth at the expense of the earth or the collective are seen not just as moral failings, but as fundamentally unwise and destructive paths that lead to imbalance and suffering. As a well-known Native American saying cautions, "When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money."

No matter the time, no matter the place, humanity finds a way to prove its predictable, self-serving nature.

And yet... we cannot escape what we are. Sad little creatures, trapped on a lonely, insignificant planet, creating a wonderful and terrible technology - one based entirely on our own wonderful and pathetic nature.

Thanks for reading. Abrazos.

Diego Rojas