# The Future of Choosing Who We Want to Be By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2024-08-20 We are quickly heading into a future where one will have an assistant that is truly an extension of oneself. These Generative AI assistants will be fully customized to the needs of the individual and possess all of the individual's curated experiences and knowledge. Up to this point, technology and manufacturing processes have largely been "one-size-fits-all." While some customization was possible, it was only marginal, like picking a color or adding one's favorite radio stations to quick access buttons. The reasons for the limitations were twofold. First, manufacturing costs increase exponentially with customization. Second, the ability to adapt takes a vast amount of information storage and processing, and the components and software to do this were prohibitively expensive. This second limitation is evaporating, and Generative AI is stepping out into the light. While personal assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant have been around for a decade or more, they represent nothing more than a glorified commerce bot. They answer questions or do basic things as programmed by their parent companies. Individuals will largely program future AI assistants to be supportive in untold ways that are not immediately beholden by corporate overlords. Of course, corporate overlords tend to find ways to remain on top. Nevertheless, solutions are already coming online where one can completely create and customize an AI assistant that reflects what one wants to be and know. For example, one could select which books and ideas are important and valuable to them for the assistant to know about so it can recall these ideas when one needs reminding or guidance. One could also load their work history, contacts, work products, personal writings, and courses taken to augment their knowledge set. While humans tend to forget specifics over time, the assistant will always remember. One interesting thing to observe will be how this impacts us. There is a reason why we forget things. The pain of a breakup or a sad moment fades with time. Will one choose to erase this from their assistant as well? Will the process of erasing it result in deeper reflection? Conversely, one might see their hypocrisy and growth over the years. What one declares in their 20s as important will likely differ from what one declares in their 50s. Seeing this up close and having the agency adjust their assistant accordingly will be a new experience. This isn't the same as deleting one's social media profile. This is changing the knowledge and experiences of one's extension to reflect one's new way of being that will continue to support them in the future. These choices will define us and generations ahead. Hence, many say we are entering the Age of Choice. In this age, we'll choose who we want to be in more direct and profound ways than ever. #### Related Items [[Artificial Intelligence]] [[The Age of Choice]] [[Knowledge]] [[Choice]] [[Experience]] [[Growth]] [[Learning]] [[Self-Actualization]]