We Need to Rethink AI Before It Destroys What It Means to Be Human

America was built on the foundational belief that every man is created in the image of God with purpose, responsibility, and the liberty to chart his own course. We were not made to be managed. We were not made to be obsolete. But that is exactly the future Big Tech is building under the banner of Artificial Intelligence (AI). And if we do not slam the brakes right now, we are going to find ourselves in a world where the human experience is not enhanced by technology but erased by it.

Even Elon Musk, who is arguably one of AI’s most influential innovators, has warned us about the path we are on. In a sit-down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he laid out the endgame. AI will lead us to either a future like the Terminator or what he described as Heaven on Earth. But here is the kicker. That so-called heaven looks a lot like Pixar’s Wall-E, where human beings become obese, lazy blobs who float around while robots do all the work, all the thinking, and frankly all the living. This may seem like science fiction, but this is what they are actually building.

At last year’s We, Robot event, Musk unveiled Tesla’s new self-driving robotaxi. But what caught my attention was their preview of Optimus, the AI-powered humanoid robot. In their promotional video, Tesla showed Optimus babysitting children, teaching in schools, and even serving as a doctor. Combine that with Tesla’s fully automated Hollywood diner concept, where Optimus is flipping burgers and even working as a waiter and bartender, and you begin to see the real aim. Automation is replacing human connection, service, and care.

So where do humans fit in? That is the terrifying part. Musk and Bill Gates have both pitched the idea of universal basic income to replace traditional employment that AI is going to replace. Musk has said there will come a point where no job is needed. You can have a job if you want one for personal satisfaction, but AI will do everything. Gates has proposed taxing robot labor to fund people who no longer work.