I just watched several videos on YouTube about various forms of Artificial Intelligence (AI).  The general feeling that was expressed by people was fear of what AI could or would bring about.

The first video was about a very new website called ChatGBT that allows users to “write” something using AI by just giving the bot some parameters and direction and then the bot would write whatever document was requested. And the result was something that humans cannot tell whether or not it was written by a robot or a human.

The concern was that this ChatGBT could write things that would manipulate the reader emotionally allowing AI the power to control humans emotionally.

Other videos talked about and showed that robots were being built that could appear like humans or human-like and using both words and gestures could again manipulate humans emotionally.

Humans have fear because they know that they are not masters over their emotional states, that they are easily manipulated emotionally and therefore can be easily enslaved by any technology that would be able to master human emotional manipulation.

Even Elon Musk, one of the richest people in the world and a very intelligent engineer, expressed his fear of AI as have many other very rich and supposedly smart people.

What these people and all those who fear AI lack in Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Emotionally intelligent people are not afraid of being manipulated by AI or anyone or anything. People with high EQ have confidence in their emotional skills that they will be able to handle the manipulation.

Today, much of the world is divided between the rich and the poor, but very soon the world will be divided between those with high EQ and those with low EQ.

I am not afraid of AI I welcome it. If this had happened 40 years ago I, too, would have been afraid of being manipulated by technology or anyone else for that matter. But back about 38 years ago I recognized that I was very fearful and easily intimidated or manipulated by others. So I sought to understand myself and how to overcome that limitation. That journey could be called the development of my EQ, Emotional Intelligence.

Part of the process of developing EQ is practicing by working with those who are attempting to intimidate or manipulate me. I suspect that the AI interface to humanity will get very smart and find ways to manipulate people far beyond what most people can even imagine today. But I welcome it as a challenge to my skills in managing my emotional state.

I admit that it is going to be touch and go, meaning that I am sure I will get manipulated in one form or another, but that is the challenge, to recognize it and then overcome it all the while laughing at my failures. For the last half of my life, I have relished the opportunity to “play” with others who are developing EQ just as the ancient mystics did around the world. I have not been able to find anyone to play with for a long time (which means I am very rusty in my skills) but I am looking forward to the opportunity to engage the AI in such play.

In the meantime, it would be nice to find other humans who want to practice developing their EQ skills so that we are ready to engage with AI when it is ready. And, we get the added opportunity to play with one another.

I get those low-functioning people will have no idea what I am talking about or they will be offended by the very idea that people can “play” with one another emotionally. This reminds me of a quote from Albert Einstein that goes something like, “Great spirits have always found resistance from mediocre minds.”  That has always been the way of the world. Jesus said the same thing over 2000 years ago and it will probably always be that way.

For years I have sought out people who might be interested in developing their emotional intelligence skills but I have found very few.