Will AI be humanity's most remarkable achievement or its biggest tragedy?

We may be rapidly progressing into a full-scale AI revolution, which is only comparable to the emergence of the Internet. With that outstanding change comes an outstanding future. But on what extreme will that future stand out—positive or negative?

AI may replace all work within this century, and leave humanity jobless. That may sound like good news, but is it? Where will people find their purpose, drive, and motivation? Work provides that for billions. How will we cope as a species if AI rapidly replaces all work?

Understandably, there are reasonable fears surrounding AI: job loss being primary. But most of the fear stems from far-fetched dystopian stories like The Terminator (a scenario I wouldn't predict is on our AI event horizon).

Tech optimists quickly mention that our species has a clean track record for using technology to improve our lives. Two recent examples are the Industrial Revolution and the Internet Age; both caused sweeping changes to traditional life and led to a net increase in the global standard of living. But neither of these enlightenment eras were without faults.

The Industrial Revolution modernized the world, but in hundreds of years (or even a few decades), it may retrospectively recognized as "The Beginning of the End": A period that directly led to global warming and biodiversity loss from burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial pollution (to name a few). Likewise, the Internet has allowed for mass connectivity, but at the cost of blurring the truth and leading to pervasive social media addiction across all age demographics (especially teenagers).

Every technology has useful and destructive features. For example, think about smartphones. They can provide hundreds of functions that previously required separate items (phone, calculator, GPS, notebook, camera, etc.) and connect you to unlimited information. However, they also contain a worrisome trap: algorithms designed by brilliant people to steal as much of your time as possible for profit.

It's all about how you use new tech. In the right hands, a smartphone is a souped-up Swiss Army knife bubbling with knowledge and benefits. Or, it's an attention-stealing psychological manipulator with none of your best interests at heart. It's up to the individual to avoid the bad and maximize the best.

And the same will be true of AI. Some will use it to save time and increase happiness. And some will use it to move in the opposite direction.

So, the question isn't whether AI will be humanity's most remarkable achievement or its biggest tragedy; it's what AI will do for you.