Humans could be one of the most helpless beings on the planet — and for far longer than most. After all, from birth to standing on their own, we need years of supervision, hand-holding and imposed knowledge — from parents, from schools — just to get there.

Saying first words.
Taking first steps.
Potty training.
Don’t touch that.
Don’t put that in your mouth.
Don’t play with matches.
Don’t touch live wires.
Don’t play with snakes.
Share your toys.
Take turns.
Be kind.
Don’t hit.
Don’t bite.
Don’t pull hair.
Say please and thank you.
Look both ways before crossing the street.
Don’t talk to strangers.
Make friends.
Play nice.
Choose your friends wisely.
Learn to read.
Learn to count.
Memorize the multiplication table.
Learn to write.
Do your homework.
Learn some history.
Learn some science.
Try your best.
Respect your elders.
Pick a sport.
Find a hobby.
Help around the house.
Learn to cook something.
Fix things.
Be nice to others.
And so on and so forth…

And all of that — so that a human — eventually — can get a professional education (or maybe skip that part entirely) and go work. Work for a living.

We’ve always told ourselves that all these years of raising, teaching and shaping — are for something greater. Something meaningful. Something significant. Something that would matter.
However, having just a decent life is perfectly fine too.

But where are humans on the timeline of their own evolution right now? In terms of knowledge, skills and abilities.

Why memorize the multiplication table if I have a calculator? ☑
Why know anything if I can just Google it? ☑
Why know or do anything at all if AI will just handle everything for me? ☑

And there it is. End of the line. Last stop — everybody off.

And here we are, living in fascinating times — outraged at the idea of shutting down the Department of Education, while our kids are doing homework with AI.

Taking tests and exams with AI. ☑
Nailing job interviews with AI. ☑
Defending doctoral dissertations with AI. ☑

Same pattern. Same logic. Just further downhill:

I have a calculator.
I have Google.
I have AI.

Remarkable how quickly we managed to discard knowledge itself.

Who would have thought that on the way to the pinnacle of evolution, humans would outsource their knowledge, skills and intelligence to something else.