Beyond the Tech: The Pursuit of Human Purpose

In a world captivated by technological advances (at least I am captivated), it's easy to get swept up in the allure of what’s possible. AI, with its promise of transforming industries and solving complex problems, stands at the forefront of this fascination. But as we hurtle forward, there’s a question we need to pause and consider: What is the true end goal of all this innovation?

We don't adopt technology simply because it's available, or at least we shouldn't. There’s always a deeper reason, a driving force behind our actions. Take the concept of investing money, for example. People don’t seek wealth just for the sake of accumulating numbers in a bank account. The pursuit of wealth is ultimately about securing freedom, comfort, and well-being for oneself and loved ones. Money is a vessel, a tool for achieving those broader goals. And, in many ways, so is technology—especially AI.

The Bridge Between Two Worlds

AI is often presented as a tool for solving complex logic problems, but that’s not why it matters. What AI is really doing—what it could do more of in the future—is acting as a bridge between the messy, unstructured real world we live in and the structured systems we’ve been creating for decades. We live in a chaotic world of unpredictable human emotions, incomplete data, and ever-changing circumstances, while our institutions—governments, economies, education—are designed to work within much stricter confines. AI, in this sense, becomes the intermediary, helping us navigate the chaos and bring order to complexity.

An example of this is how researchers at the University of S?o Paulo (USP) in Brazil are using AI to predict mental health conditions like anxiety and depression based on social media activity. By analyzing Twitter data, they aim to build models that could offer early warnings of these disorders—well before clinical diagnosis is possible. This research highlights AI’s capacity to bridge the gap between abstract, invisible patterns and tangible, actionable insights. The team developed a database called SetembroBR, drawing inspiration from Brazil's Yellow September campaign for suicide prevention, and collected 47 million tweets from over 3,900 users with diagnosed mental health conditions. Through advanced techniques like BERT, a deep learning-based language model, they discovered that even a person’s social network—friends and followers—could predict their likelihood of depression without the need to analyze their own tweets.

This kind of work pushes AI beyond mere efficiency into a realm where it can profoundly impact human well-being, acting as an early-warning system for mental health issues that affect millions worldwide. Just as AlphaGo’s strategic thinking surpassed human expectations in the game of Go, AI's potential lies in its ability to tackle the intricacies of real-world challenges—be it mental health, scientific discovery, or societal change.

Technology as a Vessel for Human Potential

We often talk about AI in terms of its capabilities—its speed, efficiency, ability to process vast amounts of data—but that’s a narrow lens. The true value of AI lies in its potential to elevate human experience, to allow us to address challenges that, until now, have felt impossible to solve. It’s not about the technology itself but what it enables us to do.

Consider mental health, a global concern that the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates affects around 4% of the population, with the COVID-19 pandemic leading to a significant increase in cases of depression and anxiety. Studies like the one conducted at USP demonstrate AI’s ability to navigate this unstructured, deeply human terrain. By using natural language processing to detect patterns in everyday speech—such as frequent use of first-person pronouns or emotionally charged words—AI offers insights that could save lives. The potential to create early screening tools for mental health conditions underscores AI’s broader role as a vessel for enhancing human health and well-being.

Take automation, for instance. The typical debate is whether automation will steal jobs or create new ones. But perhaps the more important question is: What will people do with the time and mental space automation frees up? Ideally, it allows us to focus more on creativity, relationships, and meaning—those distinctly human pursuits that are often sacrificed in the rush of everyday life. AI could, if steered properly, help us reclaim time and energy for the things that truly matter. (By the way, have you seen "Computer Use" from Anthropic?)

Rethinking Our Relationship with Progress

There’s also a danger in focusing solely on progress without questioning what we’re progressing towards. Are we using AI to perpetuate the same systems that have always existed, or are we leveraging it to create new possibilities, new paradigms? Too often, emerging technologies are slotted into existing frameworks—used to optimize processes that may themselves be outdated or misaligned with the greater good.

For AI to truly elevate humanity, we must ask ourselves not just how it can improve efficiency or solve problems but why we are solving those problems in the first place. What are the deeper needs and desires behind our pursuit of technological advancements? Are we trying to create a world where people have more time to cultivate joy, connection, and creativity? Are we seeking to bridge divides, not just between structured systems and the real world, but between different human experiences, cultures, and values?

The End Goal: Elevating Humanity

At the core of this reflection lies a simple truth: technology is not the destination, but the means to an end. The goal isn’t to use AI to master logic puzzles or even to achieve peak efficiency—it’s to uplift humanity, to help us solve the unsolvable, and to create a world where the potential of each individual can be realized. The challenges we face—climate change, global inequality, mental health, and more—are far too complex for any one person, or even one group, to solve alone. But AI, when aligned with the right goals, can be a powerful tool for addressing these global issues.

Brazil’s ranking as one of the top consumers of social media worldwide underscores how digital platforms have become central to our modern lives, particularly among young people. This makes tools like USP's AI-based mental health models even more crucial, as they provide a way to detect early warning signs of mental health crises in spaces where many people express their struggles.

A Call for Purpose-Driven Innovation

As we stand on the cusp of incredible technological possibilities, the question we must return to again and again is: What’s the end goal? Just as money is a vessel for achieving security and comfort, AI is a vessel for elevating human potential. The problems it solves are not just technical challenges; they are reflections of our deeper desires to connect, to create, and to transcend the limitations of our current systems.

To ensure that AI is used to elevate humanity, concrete steps are needed. Individuals can start by promoting AI literacy, so more people understand both its potential and risks. Organizations should invest in ethical AI research, prioritizing projects that address societal challenges rather than just commercial goals. Governments must work toward developing regulations that prioritize human well-being, ensuring that AI's development is aligned with the broader needs of humanity. The true measure of AI’s success won’t be how efficient it makes our systems or how fast it can solve a problem, but how much it enables us to lead fuller, more meaningful lives. And that is the direction we should be heading.