GMA has recently introduced its AI reporters, and it is receiving significant backlash from netizens. This introduction of AI has sparked a moral and ethical debate. Based on what I have read, the main argument is that AI should not replace jobs intended for humans, as it diminishes human dignity. However, there are few to none who support AI in this matter. For others, it is an inevitable consequence of progress that we must all accept.

In some parts of the world, such as the US, Europe, and, I believe, some groceries in Manila, there are already cashier-less checkout counters. In the call center industry, some jobs have already been replaced by AI. Similar to how email disrupted the snail-mail system, AI is here to stay and will undoubtedly take jobs away from humans. However, in the course of change, new opportunities will arise, and there will still be areas where jobs will continue to be in demand, such as in healthcare.

I firmly believe in the saying, “When one door closes, another opens.” Nevertheless, I do not discount the fact that being on the losing end of this battle between AI and humans is challenging. So, how do we cope with the inevitable change that AI brings?

Change is always difficult, but the only way to cope with it is to go through it. As M. Scott Peck aptly stated in his bestselling book, “The Road Less Traveled”: “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” It is easier said than done because going through change is genuinely a painful process. One must leave behind something they have struggled to obtain for a long time, only to be replaced by something different.

However, it does not make sense to plunge into an abyss of sadness and pain without reason or meaning. This makes “going through it” even more painful and challenging, even absurd. But things change when the suffering and hardships that come with change become a source of purpose and meaning. At this point, suffering ceases to destroy man. As Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, once said, “Man is not destroyed by suffering; he is destroyed by suffering without meaning.”

Now, beyond the moral and ethical issues raised by AI, the most pressing concern is finding meaning in the disruptions caused by AI and whether the meaning we create is truly more valuable than the displaced humans.