There is a dire need for the youth to become self-learners. The decade of 2020 is moving at a rapid pace with technological advancements manifesting faster than before. We are indeed living in an age of artificial intelligence (AI). There were speculations about the use of AI in 2005 when Google launched Maps. Today, e-commerce is led by AI and real-time data is governing our lives. The recently released ChatGPT is taking over our content management. Launched in November 2022, it is equipped with supervised and reinforcement learning techniques.
One wonders if self-learning will be adequate at a time when AI is overshadowing the world. There was a time when humans were competing with humans in the corporate sectors. Then the era of freelancers emerged when the youth with little or no corporate experience began developing skills and offering services to national and international clients.
Now, as we step into 2023, AI is emerging as a competition and a threat to humans. Imagine a world where AI is rendering videos with human-like figures that can host shows and act in movies. Imagine a world where tools like ChatGPT are providing written content in various forms and for all types of audiences.
According to ITP.net. Buzzfeed has laid off 12% of its employees and will use ChatGPT to develop content. Humans were afraid of such a future where AI will lead the operational and strategic command of companies. That dystopian future is upon us. Such an era was also shown in the 1984 movie, The Terminator, where SkyNet governs the world. It is an artificial neural network-based consciousness that eventually gains self-awareness.
The youth of Pakistan need to enhance their learning and develop insights. Our educational system, unfortunately, follows a set and standard pattern of disseminating information that does little in personal development or enhancing cognitive capabilities.
The youth, therefore, need to indulge in reading and observing to gain information and insights. With the corporate world becoming too hostile to survive, the youth needs to focus on freelancing to earn a side income while they are pursuing studies at college or university.
The youth should determine their interest and read books related to the industry. Reading and researching will give them a foundation to work on as a freelancer. The youth has the world of social media at their fingertips that they can use for connecting with potential clients. Platforms such as LinkedIn and Instagram have proved to be good sources of marketing one’s products and services. The youth need to explore these platforms to understand how their metrics work.
The youth should work with focus and envision a future for themselves they want to live. The AI revolution has gained speed and it will increase in intensity as we move ahead. Humans need to remain as relevant as they can in this world where machines are learning and adapting as we speak
Muhammad Omar Iftikhar
The writer is a fiction writer, columnist and author of, ‘Divided Species’—a sci-fi story set in Karachi.
He tweets
@omariftikhar