The Role of Humans in the Era of AI

A few months ago OpenAI released their o3 and o4-mini models , prompting some to declare the arrival of “Artificial General Intelligence” (AGI) . Meanwhile, a steady contingent—often humanities scholars—remains largely dismissive of AI , viewing it as a gimmick , typically for noble, student-related reasons. I’m certainly not prepared to say we’ve reached AGI, in part because AGI is a notoriously (and perhaps inherently) nebulous concept, but mostly because it doesn’t matter. Contra the skeptics, I’m convinced the models will continue improving, for good or ill, and the role of humans in this new world will become harder to define. I mean the role of humans in intellectual work: the production of knowledge, the discovery of truth, and the creation of beauty. Barring an AI apocalypse , I assume that humans will continue to play some role in the world regardless of how advanced AI becomes. We will continue to cook and eat, walk around our neighborhoods, get haircuts and take sh...