LANDSPEEDER

A frictionless AI future will require society to be prepared.

The more technology enhances and augments our lives, we must mobilize mentorship lest we create a new marginalized class of global citizen - the intelligence-divide has begun.

George Lucas’ hero in the original Star Wars trilogy makes for a wonderful metaphor of the world upon us. Luke Skywalker, his mother died in childbirth, his Dad went off the rails and disappeared. He is raised by his foster parents - an aunt and an uncle.

Growing up a hydro-farmer on the margins of the empire, it seemed an impossibility that he could become the hero of the galaxy. He achieved this through his own personal grit, some fairly powerful AI tech resources… and a very human and compassionate mentor who believed in him and made him a protege’.

Luke, a foster youth in a hostile world did not go it alone. He was equipped with tech, tools & mentorship.

His resources: two droids. One, R2D2, an AI mechanic who delivers impactful and motivating media (a motivating video of Princess Leah pleading for help to save the Rebellion) and geo-referenced mapping (that includes blueprints to reduce barriers and find the best path to destroy the Death Star.) The other, C3PO, an AGI protocol droid that opens doors to real world kinship through strategic suggestion, linguistic translation and cultural sensitivity.

Like HeroBridge these resources alone are powerful enough to inspire and activate, but to embark on the hero’s quest, Luke needed the mentorship of the Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi whose only interest was Luke’s success, well-being and welfare. Kinship and emotional companionship.

As we enter 2024, the droids that provided Luke with the resource superpowers he needed in his work and personal life now come in the form of ChatGPT. Bard, Gemini and a growing list of AI Assistant applications that will enhance and augment our realities forever - if we embrace them correctly. The most important tool that we have that will guide whether these tools are used for light or dark purposes will be mentorship. It’s Kenobi or Palpatine.

The profound impact of AI assistants on workforce is already happening.

This metaphor was meant to be entertaining, but as we fast approach AGI there is a social impact that will effect everything we do - in the workplace, in the classroom. in church, within families, how we access information and entertainment. Everything. Like other times in history the introduction of technology created massive shocks and divides. Usually it hits marginalized communities the most, but this time it is different. The June 2023 McKinsey & Co report on the coming productivity frontier warns that a large percentage of the workforce who lean into the use of AI Assistants in their processes will be performing at the same level as the top performers. This raises the question of the psychological and emotional impact on high-achievers and students who have gone into debt to score jobs that pay well in exchange for high-performance.

The AI frontier is about adopting, adapting and responsibly partnering with the tools that can better equip us all.

On the other end of the curve are those average to low performing workers who rejected the adoption of AI in the workplace, and whether this will create a new digital divide that doesn’t just cut across racial and economic divides, but a whole new category of intelligence-marginalized. Having worked with marginalized communities since the original digital divide (co-founder Deborah Connelly was on the original digital divide subcommittee formed by Al Gore and included Bill Gates), this new digital divide could resemble the world depicted in the The Creator, or worse.

There is no regulator on the speed by which this is going to happen. No major technology migration plans have been authored. LANDSPEEDER, our AI Mentoring User Interface will be the first of its kind, and we are racing to train our GPT on years of mentorship outcomes so we can start deploying. The goal is the frictionless coupling of critical AI enhanced mentorship and resources to facilitate the adoption of AI in the workplace. A Ben Kenobi for everyone has been our goal since we began, and now OpenAI GPT and AI Assistant have made it possible. Just in time. We hope.

Our forecast, supported by many in the AI industry, is that AGI will be achieved (and soon thereafter in the marketplace) in two years, more or less. (AGI/SI may actually be accidentally and unofficially achieved before then, and that too is a scary proposition since no one will emotionally or psychologically be prepared for the rapid shift in the future or work - the future of education - the future of social relationships.)

Yes, I’m a sci-fi geek. Watching some of the classics - 2001 A Space Odyssey, Star Trek, 1984, Brazil, Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2039, Star Wars, Ex Machina…they are all worth a rewatch. It’s sobering. Leave in the comments any we have left out! If you want to learn more about Landspeeder v.1.0 please feel free to email at deborah@herobridge.io. Any media inquiries please address to frank@herobridgeLA.org

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