By Futurist Thomas Frey
How AI Changes Everything About Groundbreaking Accomplishments
We’re obsessed with firsts. The first person on the moon. The first to fly. The first to run a four-minute mile. These milestones cement legacies and inspire generations. But AI is fundamentally changing what it means to be “first” and whether humans will claim many future firsts at all.
My “Tool of Firsts” has always been about using our desire to go first as a mapping tool for future accomplishments. Every emerging technology produces related firsts that help us understand the technology’s benefits, strengths, limitations, and perspective. The first person to set foot on Mars. The first to cure cancer. The first trillionaire. These firsts help us work backward from desirable futures to understand what needs to happen to get there.
But in the AI era, many firsts we assumed would be human achievements might be claimed by machines instead. And that changes not just who gets credit, but whether the accomplishment means what we thought it would mean.
Continue reading… “The Tool of Firsts in the AI Era: When Being First Becomes Algorithmic”
