While watching the AI for Humans podcast covering Apple’s Visual Intelligence feature for the iPhone 16 release, I had a sudden realization: soon, everyone will have AI at their fingertips, accessible with the touch of a button. For those of us already familiar with AI, this may seem like the natural progression of technology. But what does this mean for the everyday person? Could it signal the end of some of the charm that comes with human ignorance?
The Charm of Human Ignorance
We’ve all been there—sharing a piece of information without knowing if it’s 100% accurate. Sometimes we believe it’s fact, other times it’s just something we’ve heard. We pass it along without a second thought. Occasionally, someone will challenge us, armed with conflicting information or simply convinced we’re wrong. “Google it,” they say, or they’ll pull out their phone to do the research themselves and settle the matter.
A Familiar Scenario
Imagine you’ve just bought a dog. The seller assures you it’s a specific breed and even provides paperwork to prove it. You accept this at face value, as most people would. Later, a friend visits, takes one look at your dog, and insists it’s not the breed you thought. A mild argument ensues. You pull out the paperwork, but they remain unconvinced and decide to Google it, attempting to settle the debate with a quick search.
Enter Apple Visual Intelligence
Now imagine Apple introduces a new feature—just point your camera at an object, press a button, and AI (powered by tools like ChatGPT) will instantly provide detailed information about what you’re seeing. This innovation simplifies the process of “Googling it.” I predict that before long, every phone will integrate similar capabilities, leading us toward a world where human ignorance can be artificially augmented.
An Augmented Scenario
Returning to the earlier example, imagine you buy the dog, but this time, instead of trusting the paperwork, you pull out your phone and take a picture. The AI instantly identifies the breed, revealing it’s not what you were told. You snap a photo of the paperwork, and the AI points out the error. You decide to keep the dog anyway. When your friends visit, the earlier debate never happens—after all, they trust that you’ve already verified the information with the help of AI.
The Future with Neuralink
It’s easy to see how technologies like Neuralink and Apple’s Visual Intelligence could eventually intersect. With Neuralink, you might be able to take a picture using just your thoughts, sending the image directly to your phone to be analyzed by AI. While the exact process of feeding this information back into the brain remains unclear, it’s not hard to imagine a future where such data could be seamlessly integrated into memory or displayed in a heads-up display (HUD).
What Does This Mean for Humanity?
As we race to fundamentally change every aspect of our reality, we must ask ourselves: what will happen to humanity? Some might see this technology as a blessing—it could help eliminate ignorance worldwide. It will become increasingly difficult to be wrong or to lie about something. But this also raises important questions: Who controls the information? What happens when we no longer need to guess or be wrong about things?
A Final Scenario
You go to a store to buy a dog. The owner presents the dog along with accurate information. You buy it, and when your friend visits, the dog is never a topic of discussion.
-- Circuit Surfer ⎐⎏⎐⎏
