Is Man Obsolete?

Dear S.Q. I’m flooded with info from fraudsters and wise men, agreeing that AI will be the end of man. Even your blog, “The Goal of A.I.” on Sept. 7 was a Doomsday Warning. It’s not just The Matrix; Terminator; and I, Robot warning us of AI replacing mankind. It’s everywhere. What’s your common sense advice about how far away is man’s extinction and is it inevitable? 

Dear Truth Seeker, Scary questions. This Getty picture was paired with the prestigious The Economist magazine’s Sep 4, 2026, eye-catching headline of “Help Wanted. An AI jobs boom is here,” implying the help that’s wanted is human employees. But, not so fast Earthlings, read the article’s first sentence, “PERHAPS AI WILL eventually make many humans unemployable—but there is no sign of it yet.” No sign yet? I found no film or story that assures that AI will not replace humans. Bicentennial Man, and Wall-E explore AI and human companionship over competition, and Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress explores cooperation to achieve common goals. Robot’s primary directive is not to hurt humans, but since hurt is a human emotion, with layers upon layers of meaning that only humans can understand, it's a false directive, is it not? As apex predator for two million years, man shouldn’t lose this position especially since we’re the ones creating these Frankensteins. But, to remain the Apex Predator requires cooperation between humans similar to the creation of the United Nations whose goal is to keep global peace. Judge for yourself how well that’s succeeding. -SQ