love and trust in the times of Ai

A few weeks ago, while walking through the university corridor, I inadvertently overheard a conversation between two teachers discussing student submissions from their class. Their dialogue suggested suspicions that some of these submissions might be the work of AI. In the era before AI, such suspicions typically revolved around plagiarism. However, the concerns of that bygone era pale in comparison to the pervasive atmosphere of suspicion that defines the post-AI world.

Characterising the post-AI world can be succinctly done with one statement: "We don't trust." This lack of trust extends across various facets of life, encompassing government institutions, politicians, elections, judiciary systems, law enforcement, news media, healthcare professionals, legal practitioners, engineers, contractors, artists, literature, products, advertisements, spiritual leaders, educational systems, scientific endeavours, and institutions at large. The list appears endless until one realises that this lack of trust extends even to our own institutions and priorities, influencing our moral and ethical stances and shaping our lives.

In today's society, distrust and the subsequent human responses of anger and frustration have become lucrative markets. Similar to the academics I overheard, the market understands that people are sceptical of the information they read, the visuals they see, the information they hear, and the promises they encounter. It's crucial not to conflate societal scepticism with the emergence of scepticism as a critical response. On the contrary, in the age of information overflowing via mass media and the internet, people harbour a narcissistic sense of entitlement. Exploiting this blend of distrust and entitlement, a highly profitable market thrives, constantly generating doubt about everything. This capitalistic industry not only thrives on doubt but also amplifies contempt, giving rise to ancillary markets of disdain and hatred for others.

This consumption-driven business perpetuates the notion that each individual is a privileged alien with high moral and ethical standards, separate from the deceitful world around them. These concepts of alienation, distrust, and contempt have profound implications, pushing individuals into a perpetual state of anxiety and fear akin to the fear of others experienced in schizophrenia.

Today, globally, this precarious mental state prevails, fostering a perpetual fear of others based on religion, language, culture, and practices. Ironically, it's our own alienation and distrust that harm us more than any external threat. We must halt this self-destructive madness fueled by profit-driven distrust. Instead, we should strive to trust the world and the people around us to prevent our society from descending into a collective mental asylum of paranoid individuals. The responsibility ultimately falls on educators, like those teachers in the corridors, who have to instil values in the children they shape than complaining. Schools and teachers must abandon the culture of distrust and prioritise the cultivation of trust. They must cease producing individuals imbued with a sense of entitlement that will ultimately render them paranoid and distrustful. It's time for teachers to prioritise teaching the values of love and trust as the cornerstone of education, remembering that knowledge devoid of trust is merely a tool of self-destruction.