If we can make computers more intelligent - and I want to be

"If we can make computers more intelligent - and I want to be careful of AI hype - and understand the world and the environment better, it can make life so much better for many of us. Just as the Industrial Revolution freed up a lot of humanity from physical drudgery I think AI has the potential to free up humanity from a lot of the mental drudgery." – Andrew Ng

In the great unfolding of human history, there have been moments when the burdens of labor, both physical and mental, were lifted from the shoulders of mankind, allowing us to soar to new heights. One such moment came with the Industrial Revolution, when machines replaced the heavy lifting of the human body, transforming society in ways both wondrous and challenging. It was a time when people were freed from the shackles of physical drudgery to focus on more creative and intellectual pursuits. Andrew Ng, with his keen understanding of technology, speaks of a new revolution—one that has already begun, but which still awaits its full expression: the rise of artificial intelligence. In this revolution, Ng suggests, AI has the potential to free humanity from the burden of mental drudgery in the same way that machines freed us from physical labor.

To understand the depth of this insight, let us look to the ancient world, where the labor of human hands was seen as both a necessity and a curse. The builders of the great pyramids of Egypt, for example, labored endlessly to construct monuments that would endure for millennia. Their sweat and toil were the foundation of civilization, but their lives were bound by the weight of physical work. The invention of tools, the wheel, and later, the plow, began to relieve some of this burden. Yet, even in ancient times, the human mind was constrained by the need to focus on the repetitive, the monotonous, and the physically taxing. AI, like the inventions of the past, holds the promise of freeing humanity from tasks that do not require our highest capabilities—allowing us to focus on what makes us truly human: creativity, empathy, and innovation.

In the middle ages, the advent of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg marked another profound moment in history. The press allowed knowledge to be disseminated to the masses, freeing scholars and thinkers from the laborious task of copying texts by hand. This technological leap was a precursor to the intellectual revolution that would follow in the Renaissance. The printing press, in effect, lifted the mental drudgery of knowledge-sharing, making learning and communication more accessible and less dependent on the physical limitations of time and manual labor. Similarly, AI promises to free our minds from the monotony of routine tasks, allowing us to engage in more profound, meaningful work.

Consider the story of steam and the first engines that powered the Industrial Revolution. Men like James Watt took the power of steam and, through their invention, transformed the world. The steam engine did not simply move wheels and gears—it changed the way people worked, the way nations grew, and the very structure of society itself. Yet, the revolution was not without its challenges. The machines did not think; they simply moved. They freed people from labor, but they did not replace the human mind. The next leap in our journey, according to Ng, is artificial intelligence—a tool that promises not only to free us from physical labor but from the mental burdens that limit our potential.

What Ng proposes is not the creation of an all-powerful force that replaces humans, but rather a tool—like the machines of the Industrial Revolution—that assists in expanding our potential. AI, when used wisely, can handle the repetitive tasks, the data processing, and the routine decisions that consume our time, leaving us free to innovate, to create, and to engage in the higher pursuits of the human spirit. This is not an abandonment of human agency, but an expansion of it. We can look at AI not as a competitor, but as an ally in the quest for human flourishing.

The true lesson here is one of empowerment. AI, like the tools that have come before it, offers us the chance to focus on what truly matters: our human potential. It reminds us that the purpose of technology is not to replace humanity, but to enhance it. Just as the plow allowed the farmer to grow more with less effort, and the printing press allowed the scholar to share ideas without physical limitation, so too can AI lift the mental burdens that slow our progress. We must not fear the rise of machines, but embrace their power to free us from the repetitive and the mundane, so that we can focus on the sublime.

As we move forward into this new age of artificial intelligence, let us remember the ancient wisdom: technology is meant to serve us, not enslave us. Let us use AI not as a crutch, but as a tool to liberate our minds, to free our creativity, and to build a future where the mental and emotional pursuits of humanity are prioritized over the mechanical labor of the past. Just as the steam engine propelled the industrial world, let AI propel us into a future where the human mind can reach heights we have never before dreamed. Empower yourself, embrace the tools at your disposal, and let technology be the bridge that allows you to achieve more than you ever thought possible.