Daily life continually offers insights into our relationship with new technologies. Here’s a brief reflection on the future of work, encompassing AI, prompt designer, obscure technological processes, and unfulfilled responsibilities.

I was in line at a medical clinic, a symbol of slowness and oppression. To add to the dismay, the automatic numbering system malfunctioned. It was chaos: people running and arguing, numbers being called like in a lottery.

After completing my appointment and returning home, I regained peace. However, I stumbled upon an article about courses to become a Prompt Designer for AI, which thrust my thoughts 30 years ahead. Scenarios from Blade Runner, The Matrix, and Terminator seemed possible again. We need Prometheus’s help.

Technology, both a boon and a bane, has become pervasive. We can’t live without it, and when it works, it’s useful. But when it fails, we yearn for the isolation of a remote mountain village.

Do you have time for more? In a hurry?

Try talking to TOBI, the most muddled assistant from Vodafone, capable of irritating even the Dalai Lama. I suggest a pay-off: “The less you talk to TOBI, the better.”

Imagine if its developers programmed algorithms to make impactful decisions on our lives, using a visor just centimeters from our retinas. Good luck.

Another episode made me reflect on the opacity of automated systems.

Activating an electric utility service turned into an odyssey with one operator and then another. Three weeks of trouble without understanding the reason, but I finally succeeded. I appeared on a blacklist, with no explanation or knowledge of the criteria or the company responsible.

Lawyers, accountants, and even inquiries at the Tax Agency and Revenue Collection Portal revealed nothing. No valid reason for being on that list, just “Computer says no.”

An unknown program, without appeal, decided it wasn’t safe to proceed with the contract. Mysteriously, a third operator activated the service without issue. The mystery remains, as we don’t know who or what criteria are being used, not even human assistants know.

The Impenetrable Transparency of Technology

We must blindly trust the process, as understanding it is no longer possible. We must have faith that everything is going right, without questioning why or how.

It’s also increasingly difficult to find someone who can explain the nature of problems that arise. On what data does the machine base its resolution? We can’t expect a customer service representative, responding from a European Union country, to be informed about every operation performed by the computer.

It feels like we’re heading toward a dystopia, at the mercy of a mix of fear, madness, and unexplainable enthusiasm for the latest hardware and software developments.

On one hand, there are the bright lights of a futuristic world claiming to work for human betterment and solving major problems. On the other hand, there are the rest of us, rushing not to be left behind or at least to be minimally respected.

With great developments come great responsibilities

Here we are again, reflecting on the effects of the fourth industrial revolution and the increasing responsibility developers have assumed since the advent of social media, potentially ending with an Apple-branded Skynet era. After all, journalists and politicians focus on clicks and winning elections, so someone had to fill the vacant throne.

A 2017 study by the Institute for the Future predicted that 85% of students would work in jobs we can’t yet imagine by 2030. Indeed, this doesn’t seem far from our experience. Who would have answered “influencer,” “social media manager,” or “UI designer” to “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Even a year ago, how many would have wanted to follow a course in prompt design to effectively communicate with AI?

Developers create new workspaces, while ordinary people try to occupy them as best as they can. What happens when the fate of the workplace is in the hands of non-human entities?

Digital Priests and prompt designer

The ongoing process remotely resembles the development of religions. People create deities to command them. The clever ones become their spokespersons, rising above the masses. Brahmanas maintained order, and even kings couldn’t make decisions without consulting them. We know the power of Popes during the high Middle Ages. Today, we witness a trend of idolizing fast-tech gadgets, wearable devices, and Web-Dev, self-proclaimed with titles like Evangelist and Guru. Should we place unlimited trust in these software and people? What do we need for our well-being?

At least in the current situation, we have “tangible” proof of the artificial god’s results: type one, type two, say your name, sign up, register, accept the terms, and so on. The issue is, when we build something capable of performing tasks for us, we no longer need a mediator. AIs are even taking

jobs from their creators—a significant problem for technology priests. Grab a shovel and dig your grave.

When AI starts independently handling software and web development, developers at industry fairs might worry about their future.

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