Note to self
AI may soon be capable of doing almost anything, but without a will of its own—without the capacity to choose its own goals—it remains only a tool.
This contrast tells us more about ourselves than about the intelligent machines we’re building. Human will is arguably the world’s most important, yet most underrated, resource. It fuels our agency and shapes the mark we leave on the world. Castles, empires, and works of art all begin as acts of will.
To appreciate its significance, it’s helpful to think of it at the limit. Remove the human will, and history would grind to a halt. Amplify it to the max, and change becomes inevitable—and change is what the future is made of. More than compute or data, AI needs the human will to fulfill its promise.
The will to act sits at the very heart of what it means to be human. Embrace it.
I was recently asked if AI -powered synthetic social media influencers replace humans soon. I said that it is the human agency, the initiative, that provides the inspiration, which is the reason to follow an influencer to begin with. The will is a human feature, and AI agents mere tools.