It is my belief that, as a society, we are climbing Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs:
1. Physiological Needs - Food, clothing, shelter, and the other basic requirements for survival.2. Safety Needs - Personal safety, a stable environment, and protection from danger.3. Love and Belonging - Friendship, family, romantic relationships, community, and the feeling of being accepted.4. Esteem Needs - Self-respect, confidence, achievement, recognition, status, and the respect of others.5. Self-Actualization - Becoming the fullest version of yourself by developing your talents and creativity, finding purpose, and pursuing meaningful goals.
I have a saying: “To think a thousand moves deep, think in terms of invariants.” If we think about what is not going to change, whether it is move 1, move 50, or move 1,000, then we can reason far into the future without having to predict every individual move.
Jeff Bezos applied a similar reasoning to Amazon. He asked what would not change about amazon customers. His answer was that customers would continue to want low prices, and fast delivery. Amazon could therefore invest heavily in those areas, knowing that customers were unlikely to ask for higher prices or slower delivery.
In light of the rapid development of artificial intelligence, what is not going to change about human beings? I propose that one consistent framework is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. From now until the year one million, and beyond, these needs will still have to be satisfied.
Let us look at each level. I think AI can be used to satisfy our physiological and safety needs. At the higher levels of the hierarchy, however, this is where AI begins to tap out. I am speaking generally here, so do not come at me with edge cases. I do not see AI fully satisfying our need for love and belonging. I do not see it satisfying our need for esteem or self-actualization. In fact, I can see AI having a negative effect on some aspects of these needs. Imagine trying to gain the respect of your peers through artificially produced work, with little or no creative input from yourself. I do not see such a person being held in high regard, whether now or a thousand years from now.
Prediction: In the future, our physiological and safety needs will largely be met through AI and automation. As a society, we will therefore largely pass levels one and two of Maslow’s hierarchy. However, our higher-order needs will still require significant investment from us. AI may help us communicate, create, and organize, but it cannot simply hand us genuine friendship, family, community, earned respect, purpose, or self-actualization.
Prescription: Find your tribe. If society is moving beyond levels one and two, then the next major challenge is level three: love and belonging.
If you are interested in this type of thinking, I have written a book called Veritas: Truths Across Cultures. It catalogues 94 recurring sayings, truths, and invariants found across diverse cultures.
You can find samples of the book here. You can get a copy here.