What happens post-AI?

(Work in progress – comments welcome but I will probably edit this later!) The AI summer has arrived, on blast for a long while now, and potential financial crashes/civilisational collapses aside, the next AI winter doesn’t seem to be around the corner. But still, life goes on post-AI. In fact, just using the phrase “post-AI” gives us agency over what comes next, giving us permission to set our own narrative. As I’ve said elsewhere, LLMs are like alcohol, as quick, easy solutions to problems. The wisdom and experience of recovering alcoholics tells us that “problem drinking” is a misnomer. Alcohol isn’t a problem, it’s a solution, to a complex of problems. These underlying problems need addressing in their own right to get to a healthier place. Only focussing on knock-on problems caused by alcohol (or LLMs) would probably not get us there. So helpfully, considering LLM-use-as-a-solution points to a wide range of cultural problems that do need solving. For example in my area of live…