Adapt or Be Obsolete — The Reality of AI in the 21st Century

The Insane Futility of Resisting AI’s Unstoppable Rise

Image generated by the Author using AI — in this case, Ideogram

“We’re jumping feet first into unreliable, unproven tech with devastating environmental costs and a dense thicket of ethical problems,” writes Nancy Kaffer in a January 6, 2025, opinion piece for the Detroit Free Press. “It’s a bad idea. And — because I enjoy shouting into the void — we really ought to stop.”

Spend any time on social media, and you’ll see many who agree with her — particularly writers, artists, and other creatives.

Personally, I find it disheartening to see the multitude of voices who are apoplectic over the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI), calling for us to “stop” and repeatedly condemning those who, in any way, use AI.

Don’t get me wrong. Many of the warnings about AI hold significant merit.

AI is dangerous. It’s bad for the environment. It’s unfair to human creators. It creates ethical problems. It makes education a nightmare for conscientious teachers and professors and may, in the long run, “dumb down” education. AI will displace a lot — and I mean, a lot! — of jobs. It will upend national economies, imperil our sense of security, and fundamentally change life as we know it. And we are not at all ready for any of these…