Mike Rowe Wants Us to Ask This Question About AI Technology
By Movieguide® Contributor
As AI use increases, Mike Rowe says people need to decide “how much we value the real thing.”
“Anybody in the business of making a thing is going to default to the impact of AI on the business of making,” he said during an appearance on the JACK CARR DANGER CLOSE podcast. “But the truth is, we’re in the minority. The vast majority of people don’t publish books or write songs or create TV shows or paint portraits. They consume them. They enjoy them.”
Rowe continued, “So, the bigger question is that we have to figure out how much we value that which is authentic. If that portrait on your wall that you purchased decades ago that you love so much, when you learn that it’s a forgery, does it diminish your love for it? And if so, why?”
“We need to decide as consumers of art and just participants in commerce how much we value the real thing,” he concluded. “And that’s something 330 million individuals are going to have to decide for themselves over here.”
Rowe has frequently shared his thoughts on what the widespread use of AI means for people in all kinds of industries.
In a blog post, the DIRTY JOBS host said he has “skeptimistic” about the tech’s possibilities.
“In short, I think it’s going to help attract more young people into the trades, and that’s a very positive thing,” Rowe wrote. “But more broadly, I still think of AI like a smartphone, or a firearm. In the right hands, it’ll be a tool for progress like nothing we’ve ever seen before. In the wrong hands, the capacity for mischief will be amplified to infinity and beyond.”
READ MORE: MIKE ROWE ON AI: ‘IN THE RIGHT HANDS, IT’LL BE A TOOL FOR PROGRESS’
In an interview on THE BIG MONEY SHOW, Rowe added that there are still plenty of blue-collar jobs that robots and AI won’t be able to take away.
“People used to say that the robots are going to destroy skilled labor. Well, not really,” he said. “I haven’t seen any plumbing robots. I haven’t seen any electrician robots. And I don’t think we’re going to see any artificial intelligence in the skilled trades to that degree. You can’t stop it. All you can do is decide to freak out completely or not.”
READ MORE: MIKE ROWE SAYS BLUE-COLLAR WORKERS SHOULDN’T WORRY ABOUT RISE IN AI TECH
