There is an ongoing writers’ strike in Hollywood—the writers are concerned about the impact of AI on their future employment. They’re right to be concerned: AI is going to change just about everyone’s job and writers may see their jobs change before other professions do.
I’ve wasted quite a few hours experimenting with ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, and if I owned a small newspaper, I’d already be using both services to help provide content. Both bots can already produce prose that’s as good as what you now find in most national newspapers and it’s far superior to what I see in the local papers. Simply put, AI works, it already works well, and it is going to get much better extremely quickly.
AI is going to bring a major change in the way we all work, probably making an even bigger change in the ways we work and live than the computer revolution did a few decades ago. Everyone and every job is going to be changed because of AI, and there is no way of stopping the juggernaut…nor should we want to, as AI is going to make our lives better and more productive, and it will substantially raise the standard of living for all of us. However, the process of change is going to hurt a lot of us in the short run (some of us a lot more than others) while both employees and employers seek solutions.
We are going to have to change the way we work and we are going to have to accept machines that learn at unimaginable speeds as our assistants and partners. We are going to have to find ways to accept a greater degree of automation and computerization in our workplaces and our lives. We will have to find ways to cope as computers and robots become a major part of all segments of our lives. Artificial intelligence is forcing us to change.
To help in this process, I have an example of change resistant people coping. Let’s talk camels.
It would surprise most people—even those who live in the Middle East—that camels originated in North America. About 56 million years ago, during the Eocene Epoch, camelids evolved in North America, multiplying and eventually separating into a number of species that spread across the world and eventually arrived in the Middle East, even as the original camelids became extinct in North America (possibly due to overhunting).
Exactly when camels were domesticated is still being debated, but it was probably between 5,000 and 6,000 years ago. The domestication of camels revolutionized transportation and trade routes in the region, as these animals were well-suited to survive the harsh desert environments and could transport goods and people over long distances. Camels played a crucial role in the development of caravan routes across the Middle East, facilitating trade and cultural exchange.
Over time, camels became integral to the nomadic lifestyle and to the economies of the Middle Eastern regions, providing transportation, milk, meat, and other valuable resources. The ability of camels to adapt to desert conditions, to travel long distances without water, and to endure extreme temperatures made them invaluable to desert dwellers. Camels are not as fast as horses over short distances, but they can carry as much as 1300 pounds and work in environments that would quickly exhaust horses.
It didn’t take long before owning, breeding, and racing camels became a status symbol, signifying both wealth and prestige. Camel racing predates the Islamic era and probably began as a way for various tribes to compete and demonstrate their wealth to gain prestige.
Today, as motorized vehicles have almost completely replaced the camel for transportation, the speedy ungulates remain an important status symbol. The wealthy raise and breed camels primarily for racing. If you live in Qatar or Saudi Arabia, racing camels occupy the same role in society as a stable of fast racehorses does in Kentucky. It won’t surprise you to hear that those camels with winning records sell for millions of dollars.
Not only do the camels have to be fast, but they must also look good. To be presentable in public, the camels are very carefully combed, perfumed, and made to look as pretty as possible. The owners go to great lengths to have makeup applied to their camels before every race. The makeup is applied to enhance the camels’ appearance, highlighting their features and adding a touch of elegance. The designs often include intricate patterns, symbols, and motifs that reflect the cultural traditions and artistic heritage of the region.
It's worth noting that the use of makeup on camels is primarily for aesthetic purposes and does not affect their actual racing performance. The focus is on showcasing the beauty and heritage of the camels rather than on altering their physical abilities.
Due to the nature of camels, their races are a little different than traditional horse racing. First, the racetracks are straight and are much longer than those for horses, allowing the camels to build up and maintain speed. Though most of the racetracks are around 7 kilometers long, the Liwa Golden Camel Race in the United Arab Emirates. is 1,000 kilometers in length.
In order for the camels to develop their top speed, the jockeys were traditionally small children from India, whom the wealthy camel breeders had purchased from their impoverished parents. If the child grew too large or too heavy to be competitive…. Well, the career opportunities for foreign ex-camel jockeys who do not speak the local language are not good in any country.
The European press began publishing horror stories out of the Middle East about abandoned and abused children who were the by-product of traditional camel racing. Let’s face it, the wealthy of the Middle East are not exactly the poster children for First Adopters who welcome change and innovation—particularly when you are talking about a centuries-old sport. When change comes in this region, it comes at a pace that makes stalagmites look rash. It was almost unthinkable that these oil-rich elites would accept change—but they did.
Today, a typical race features fast camels who wear professional makeup and perfume. Each bears a small robot wearing a colorful racing costume indicating its ownership and swinging a rotating riding crop. The camel’s owner screams orders to the animal while racing alongside the track in his Mercedes. This is your “traditional” camel race, nowadays.
If the oil-rich sheiks can accept change and mechanization, so can the rest of us.
It will be interesting to read your blog when the first robot history professor takes his place in front of a lectern and then again when he is facing a lecture hall full of robotic students. Perhaps I'll croak before writers are totally obsolete.
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