Over the last month, I have been training a personalized Large Language Model that includes my writings, interviews, podcasts, and lecture transcripts from the past five years at Duke University. In essence, generative AI (artificial intelligence) technology has enabled me to create a “digital doppelgänger” of myself.
I originally intended to create a “ProfTony AI” chatbot that is accessible to my students 24/7 to answer their questions. However, as is the case with many experiments, the results have revealed a more profound set of insights that represent a huge opportunity for the future of human fulfillment and flourishing.
Given the breakneck pace and scale of generative AI technology adoption to date, it is plausible to assume that most individuals soon will have access to their own “personal polymathic AI,” a superhuman machine intelligence that can revolutionize their personal development. This AI companion would offer knowledge, guidance, and support to equip, enable, and encourage individuals along a learning journey to become the very best version of themselves.
A PLETHORA OF BENEFITS
Imagine having access to an always-on personal AI that possesses a vast array of knowledge across multiple disciplines, capable of providing the optimal level of instructions or instruction in context at the moment of need. Whether it is learning a new language, mastering a musical instrument, or dealing with a complex business decision, the AI is permanently available to guide and challenge its human counterpart to unlock their full potential at every moment.
This polymathic companion would not only teach but listen. It would act as a confidante, offering a safe space for individuals to share their innermost thoughts, fears, and dreams. And it would provide empathic responses to foster the personal growth and emotional well-being of its human counterpart.
Such a personal polymathic AI could democratize access to education and knowledge, leveling the playing field for individuals regardless of their background or socioeconomic status. It could obliterate individual educational achievement gaps by providing personalized learning experiences.
With the right design approach, this technology could unlock a huge reservoir of cognitive surplus that lies largely dormant today. But to do so, we must put the learner—not the teacher—at the center and design polymathic AIs that serve their human counterparts as an indispensable ally in their journey toward achieving personal fulfillment and flourishing.
