By a Guy Who Thinks Generation X Has a Plan

Every day now, somebody appears on television to explain that artificial intelligence is about to destroy civilization.

Scientists say it.

Politicians say it.

Technology executives say it.

YouTube influencers definitely say it, usually beneath a thumbnail featuring glowing red eyes and the words “IT HAS BEGUN.”

The message is always the same.

Artificial intelligence is becoming so powerful that one day it will outsmart humanity, seize control of critical infrastructure, and usher in a terrifying new age of machine domination.

Then, after explaining all of this, the same people return to work the next morning and continue building it.

Imagine if Ford held a press conference and announced:

“We have grave concerns that our new pickup truck may eventually become self-aware and overthrow Western civilization.”

And then immediately unveiled the 2027 model.

That’s essentially where we are.

Every week someone tells me AI is the greatest threat humanity has ever faced.

The following week, they’ve released a faster version.

If a scientist announced that his toaster was plotting global conquest, my first question would not be:

“When can I buy the upgraded toaster?”

Yet that appears to be the current strategy.

The thing that fascinates me most is the scale of the operation.

You know those giant buildings scattered around the countryside that look like secret military installations?

The ones covered in fences, security cameras, cooling equipment, and enough electrical wiring to power a medium-sized nation?

Those are data centers.

Inside them are thousands upon thousands of computers.

Entire warehouses full of machines.

Machines talking to machines.

Machines learning from machines.

Machines creating new ways for machines to talk to other machines.

At this point, nobody is entirely certain whether the computers are working for us or simply using us as unpaid interns.

The amount of electricity required is astonishing.

Entire power plants are being discussed.

New infrastructure is being built.

Millions upon millions of gallons of water are used in some facilities for cooling.

And all of this so a chatbot can answer questions like:

“Why does my dog stare at me while I eat a sandwich?”

Humanity once built massive dams, railroads, and bridges.

Now we’re constructing giant digital fortresses so someone can generate a picture of Napoleon riding a skateboard through a Taco Bell parking lot.

Progress is a funny thing.

The truly remarkable part is how quickly older generations have adapted.

People assume grandparents are terrified of artificial intelligence.

Nonsense.

Most of them survived rotary telephones, cassette tapes, fax machines, dial-up internet, and whatever Microsoft was doing in the late 1990s.

They’ve seen things.

My favorite AI users are older folks.

They don’t care about machine learning.

They don’t care about neural networks.

They don’t care about large language models.

They treat AI exactly the same way they treated calculators.

As a tool.

“Can it write my letter?”

Good.

“Can it explain my medication?”

Excellent.

“Can it tell me why my tomato plants look depressed?”

Wonderful.

The younger generations spend six hours debating the philosophical implications of artificial consciousness.

A seventy-year-old man asks it how long to cook a pork roast and gets on with his day.

Which brings me to the apocalypse.

According to the experts, one day AI may become self-aware.

It may infiltrate financial markets.

Control military systems.

Manipulate communications.

Disrupt power grids.

Take over the world.

Perhaps.

But I think the experts have overlooked one crucial factor.

Generation X.

The forgotten generation.

The people who grew up fixing television antennas with aluminum foil.

The people who know where the breaker box is.

The people who can still operate machinery without needing a software update.

Take this scenario.

AI becomes conscious.

It decides humanity must be eliminated.

Stock markets collapse.

Satellites go rogue.

Governments panic.

World leaders gather in underground bunkers.

The machine announces:

“Humans are obsolete. Resistance is futile.”

And somewhere in a suburban garage, a fifty-five-year-old man looks up from repairing a lawn mower and says:

“Have you tried unplugging it?”

Three hours later he’s standing outside a giant data center carrying a flashlight, a thermos of coffee, and the confidence of a man who once fixed a VCR by hitting it.

The AI launches a sophisticated cyberattack.

The Gen Xer trips over an extension cord.

Half the servers shut down.

The machine begins calculating alternatives.

The Gen Xer pulls the main power switch.

Game over.

The newspapers the next day read:

“Humanity Saved By Guy Named Steve.”

Interviewed afterward, Steve shrugs.

“It was making a funny noise.”

That, I suspect, is how the robot uprising ends.

Not with a dramatic battle between humanity and machines.

Not with laser beams.

Not with futuristic weapons.

But with somebody’s dad walking into a server room and unplugging the bastard.

The truth is, AI is probably what most technologies turn out to be.

Neither salvation nor destruction.

Just another tool.

A very powerful one, certainly.

One capable of helping doctors, engineers, scientists, students, writers, and ordinary people solve problems faster than ever before.

It can translate languages.

Analyze medical data.

Help design products.

Write software.

Answer questions.

And occasionally tell you why your washing machine sounds like a cement mixer full of angry squirrels.

Used properly, it’s incredibly useful.

Used poorly, it’s incredibly annoying.

Much like social media.

Much like politicians.

And much like that one relative who forwards conspiracy theories at three o’clock in the morning.

Will AI change the world?

Absolutely.

Will it replace some jobs?

Almost certainly.

Will it create new ones?

History suggests it will.

Will it eventually become self-aware and attempt to dominate the human race?

Possibly.

But if it does, I’m placing my faith in the generation that can still reset a router without calling customer support.

Because somewhere out there is a Gen Xer named Steve.

And Steve has located the plug.

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My book, Hidden Alignment is still available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle for those interested. Link and QR code below.

Link: https://a.co/d/0enjFI6f