Knowledge Is Only Power, When…

Let’s not learn for learning’s sake. Let’s use it by applying it where appropriate.

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Robots are artificial learners. They are not aware that they are learning. Their instinct is to learn all they can. If humans didn’t give them a purpose for learning, they wouldn’t have a purpose. They just learn for learning’s sake. I love learning. Learning is fun. There’s a high in learning new concepts and acquiring new knowledge. Every time I learn, I’m doing mental acrobatics. I’m staying sharp.

I’m not a robot.

Most of the time, I have a purpose when I learn. I say most of the time because, well, sometimes, I get lost in the ego-driven pursuit of knowledge. I forget my purpose. Then, I become a robot. I simply learn to pass the time. I learn to get my dopamine high. I learn to be labeled a “scholar”.

I’m not a robot. I want a purpose.

Increasingly, knowledge powers our world. The whole threat of robots replacing humans is all about robots gaining more knowledge than humans. With knowledge, there is a possibility of power, struggle, and defeat.

But, the truth is that the application of knowledge, the actions we take with our knowledge, the intentions, and the purposes are much more important than the knowledge itself.

The power from knowledge comes from the intention, the purpose, and the actions that we take.

When I think of knowledge, I think of bookshelves lined with books. If no-one reads the books, then the knowledge won’t be a threat to power. History tells us that people who are threatened by knowledge burned books, and degraded the statuses of intellectuals only to find themselves in need of them decades later. This was seen during the cultural revolution in China in the 1970s when books were burned and intellectuals were brainwashed and lost their lives. Nowadays, the government relies on intellectuals to power the new Age of Artificial Intelligence. The need for China to conquer human knowledge using Artificial Intelligence also comes from a place of fear.

The fear that in human hands, knowledge will be power.

In truth, knowledge that is not used is not power. Knowledge that does not have purposes and actions behind them is not power. Learning knowledge for the sake of learning is not power.

Knowledge must be used creatively to be powerful. Humans have the power of creativity.

When we look at the Age of Artificial Intelligence, we are often fearful. We are as fearful as the people in power who are incorporating AI into our lives. Our fear is not so much of knowledge in AI’s hands will be power, we fear that AI will make humans less valuable to the economy. Therefore, humans will lose value as resources to power the economy. In turn, it will be harder for people to make a living.

Do we want to be just resources? If we are just resources, we are renouncing our most precious commodity: creativity.

What would the world look like when AI generates knowledge for human creativity to consume? What industries, jobs, and a whole new world would that create for the humankind?

Think about that. When revolutions in the workplace happens, it is not a revolution of scarcity. As long as there’s creativity, new frontiers will be explored, new jobs will be created, and a new way of life will be defined.

When we embrace new knowledge, new development, and new worlds with the mindset of abundance, then we are opening up new worlds for ourselves. In the meantime, create something, anything with the knowledge that you have today.

What are you waiting for?