AI Agents & The 4th Industrial Revolution

Article posted with permission from the author, Karen Schumacher

Driving the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), “a fundamental change in the way we live, work and relate to one another”, is artificial intelligence (AI).

AI is the foundation of 4IR.  In this WEF panel discussion video, Generative AI is discussed as The Steam Engine of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The discussion includes advancing warfare, procuring profits, with government and companies partnering together and those partnerships changing basic education across the world.  “If you embrace AI, you will be complete”, and “if you reject it altogether, you will be completely finished”, at least according to panel member Omar Al Olama.

What this panel is talking about is the forthcoming AI Agent, a technology that assumes the role of thinking for a human and works with the human to solve problems, literally a  “digital companion” as explained by Nancy Xu in the video.  Using data for analysis, it makes decisions and takes action on its own to create solutions to problems.  ChatGPT and other AI tools have been used to orient and entice users for the ultimate AI agent.

Exposing what is yet to come, the discussion pivots to the smartphone and reveals how it will be used to navigate life even further.  Just driving a car will be managed by an AI Agent within the phone, guiding the driver through the problem-solving as explained at the 11:20″ mark.

As if AI itself isn’t bad enough, there are different types of agents working together to make decisions (pg 10) and how they work together with a human (pg 13) in driving a car.  Page 17 of the same report covers some of the dangers that come with an AI Agent and the alleged benefits.

As part of WEF’s AI Governance Alliance, it has already created its MINDS program “to transform businesses and society.”  At this point, it appears this program is primarily focused on the technology for taking over and changing how large businesses operate while increasing productivity for more profits.  It references the Navigating the AI Frontier report on AI Agents.

Meanwhile, these little agents will require excessive data for making decisions, which is the driving force behind data centers being built.  According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), and WEF partner, energy consumption will continue to rise (pg 54-57).  It won’t be large corporations paying for this expanded energy use, it will be us as explained by Vanessa Wingardh in this video.

Perhaps an all knowing, illustrious AI Agent should be asked to solve that problem.

According to this WEF article, with a graphic that literally shows how AI will control everything, it describes an agent “as an autonomous system that senses its environment through sensors, processes inputs to make decisions, and acts upon its surroundings using effectors (sic) to achieve specific goals.”  That is why so many objects are now “smart”, they contain the sensors sending information via the internet to the data centers.

Disparaging President Kennedy’s famous quote from his inaugural address, WEF acknowledges the overall control AI will have in the world through it being embedded in devices, and taking data from its use.  Everyone talks about the need for governance over AI, but it remains highly ungoverned.  Again, it begs the question, if AI agents are so omnipotent, why is it not being asked to answer this question?

Ignoring the subject matter in this article, focus should be given to the power and ability corporations will have over all of society with AI.  A corporation can literally control what happens to a society.  And Microsoft is a WEF partner.  According to WEF, “AI agents will redefine how consumers make choices” as well, that is, making the decision for the consumer, and controlling the economy.  However, It must be remembered that “An AI agent is essentially just “a piece of code”, but it is a human that creates that code.

Sadly, it is the intent that we will be living in “a world where 99% of all intelligence is artificial”.  For everyone, this should be a frightening prospect and consideration should be given to not engage with any technology that will advance the goal.  It could literally become the complete downfall of civilization.  As a start, it is time to give up that smartphone.