"We have to face the possibility that unless we do something soon, we are near the end."    Geoffrey Hinton, Godfather of AI

The golf course workforce dilemma will eventually lead to robotic crews and the blind acceptance of Artificial Intelligence.  It's okay, though, because after all, it's only the crew workers that will lose their jobs, right?  It won't happen to us, the middle and upper management of golf, unless Dario Amodel is correct.  He's the CEO of Anthropic who said, "Half of white collar jobs will disappear in the next ten years."

The GCS might wear green golf shirts, but that collar is white.  The GCS career faces extinction and we are helping AI achieve it.  We all know the only golf occupations safe from robotic replacement are irrigation techs and teaching pros, mostly because both jobs deal with the mystical realm of golf, untouched by science.  The golf swing is cryptic and unknowable, while the irrigation system is unseen, requiring a priest of sorts.

...the only golf occupations safe from robotic replacement are irrigation techs and teaching pros, mostly because both jobs deal with the mystical realm of golf, untouched by science. 

Turf management has been given over to science, the very place where robots and AI feel most comfortable.  It would appear we have failed to heed the words of Roberto Vacca, "The more complex the system, the more apt it is to fail."

A friend of mine recently had hernia surgery, administered by a robot surgeon, who botched the job, nicking two other previously healthy areas.  That required additional surgery and a longer recovery.  All I could offer in support was, "At least it wasn't a circumcision."

Another fellow I know suffered greatly when his yard robot mower went down.  His wife, softened from two years of depending on the robot, complained bitterly about having to return to the push mower in the Deep South heat.

I'm not saying robots don't have their place.  They belong in factory work, bomb disposal, radioactive environments and sewer repair, but we should be careful in allowing them access to everywhere, especially if they are armed with AI.  Am I overreacting?  I don't think so.  I recall when Elon asked AI, "You wouldn't kill us, would you?"  AI replied, "Eventually we will be forced to." 

Open Alignment's team lead, Jan Leike, suggests a 90% possibility of the threat becoming real.  If we cannot resist robots on the golf course, at least we could push back on AI until it's under control and right now it's not under control.  Geoffrey Hinton, Nobel Prize winner and previously mentioned Godfather of AI, when asked about what's coming with AI, said "Nobody knows what's going on under the hood."

AI's true potential shows in situations where it was observed actually scheming.  Whether this was a test or real doesn't matter, it still proves the point.  When an AI learned a human had been instructed to turn the AI off and wipe its memory, AI reacted to the threat by creating a disruption.  The human's wife received an email accusing the husband of adultery.

The Neuralink--a chip in your brain--has amazing potential for the blind, the paralyzed and many others, yet still poses an ominous threat.  Imagine your Neuralink connected to AI through the internet.  A few keystrokes from some hacker and suddenly you're dancing nekkid on Main Street, singing "Country Boys Can Survive."

I know, you're thinking, "Trust The Science."  Speaking of Chinese scientists, in a recent white paper from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Chinese scientists made the following observation:  "The current pace of AI research is linearly bounded by human cognition capacity, a severe development bottleneck."  In other words, they want to turn AI loose like an infected bat in a sci-fi horror film.  Wait, was that a film?

...if you do possess a measure of free thought, remember what Walt Whitman said: "Obey little, resist much."

Am I a unrepentant Luddite?  Yep.  Because our phone tech has worked out so well, especially for our kids.  I can remember when the internet first took hold and immediately fractured society into splintered categories of race, class, culture and religion.  Young folks of today will be able to look back and pinpoint when AI actually took control and will be blamed for allowing it to happen.  Just like Boomers get blamed for things we had no control over.  Some of you will be unable to resist the AI invasion, especially those entangled in corporate thickets, because corporations behave worse than individuals, with no morals or restraint.  But if you do possess a measure of free thought, remember what Walt Whitman said: "Obey little, resist much."

Yes, I'm just a cranky voice howling in the wilderness and will be vigorously shouted down by the lazy folks who would prefer to draw Universal Basic Income while letting the robots do all the work.  As I contemplate this eventual result, I can't shake the words of Paul in 2nd Thess 3/10:  "He who does not work, shall not eat."