The New Genie (#33)

Long ago, in a small village, there lived a man named Raju. He had everything—a beautiful wife, two wonderful children, and a vast area of farmland. But Raju was very lazy. He'd sleep all day long and avoid work at all costs. His wife tried her best to encourage him to be more active, but nothing seemed to work.

One day, a great sage visited their home. Raju served the sage and pleased him with his hospitality. The sage, grateful for the kindness, offered him a boon. "Tell me, my child, what you desire, and I will fulfil your wish," said the sage.

Raju thought for a moment and then said, "Please give me someone who will do all my work for me." The sage granted his wish, and a genie appeared. Raju was overjoyed, but the sage gave him a warning: "Make sure you have enough work to keep the genie busy at all times. He must never be idle." Raju nodded, not giving much thought to the sage's words.

"Give me work, master," the genie demanded. "Go to the farm and water the crops," Raju instructed. The genie completed the task in a matter of minutes and returned, eagerly asking for more work.

This cycle repeated, with the genie completing each task quickly and returning for more. Eventually, there was no work left to do. "Give me work, or I will eat you up!" the genie roared. Raju was terrified!

Just then, his wife suggested, "May I give him a task?" "Please do," Raju agreed, desperate for a solution.

"Genie, go to the dog, Moti, and make his tail straight," she commanded. The genie obeyed and never returned again.

Raju's wife then turned to him and said, "Now do you understand the importance of doing your own work? We should never rely entirely on someone else or any tool to do everything for us.

This story is a metaphor, and AI is our new genie!

If we overly rely on AI, we risk allowing it to 'kill' essential aspects of our humanity. Overdependence on AI can undermine our cognitive abilities, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making. Essentially, we risk becoming passive consumers of technology rather than active, creative, and thoughtful participants in our technological world.

AI should augment our abilities, not diminish our responsibilities.