What if AI could rebuild the middle class?

 This is the very provocative title, of an article from NPR - https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/KtbxLwgdckptzskVZRGVlzLJJDcpQMMkHL

But it is still a good question. I play with a chatbot called Pi.  Mainly I do this because i used to play with Eliza, back in the day, and I am fascinated by how this idea - human language interface, has started to finally bloom.  I liken GPTs to librarians who are able to guide your search.

In the late 80's. Jerry Phillips (my advisor and great friend) went to a communications conference where we presented a paper explaining how an expert system could help a person write a good paper by asking that person questions and creating an outline, or even the finished product.  To say it was VERY controversial is a vast understatement.

I remember once making another grad student lose her cool. She said, snarkly, that my research would hurt people. I replied that we wanted to replace people. Just kidding but boy did she get mad at me! LOL

Nevertheless - what we have now is exactly what Phillips and I proposed.  Looking at the above article maybe it will not result in a dumbing down of humans but rather in a more even playing field. That is if we use it that way.