My Perspective on AI Technology

I've always liked technology. I remember the sound of dial-up connecting to the internet on our big family computer when I was in middle school. I thought it was so cool! Soon, we were all starting to use America Online (AOL), and we were introduced to the concept of email. Then came AOL Instant Messenger (AIM).

In high school, we would instant-message each other after school just to say hi. It was fun, and back then, it all felt innocent. Kids didn't have cell phones yet, so we'd come home, get on the computer, and chat with our friends online. Technology was beginning to change how we communicated with one another.

I liked computers, and I was pretty good with them. I remember the pride I felt when I could fix my dad's computer problems. I eventually became a computer science major in college, although I'll admit that I was a terrible computer programmer and hated that particular aspect of computers!

After graduating, I became an IT consultant. I found that implementing business software came much more naturally to me than programming. I enjoyed understanding how systems worked, explaining processes, and helping people understand and use new technology.

Technology has been a part of my life for a long time. But I'm now in a different place. Over the past few years, I've spent a great deal of time researching spiritual, metaphysical, and environmental topics, including near-death experiences, out-of-body experiences, evidential mediumship, extraterrestrial life, climate change, how we can better care for our planet, and humanity's evolving future.

I also wrote a book, Our Galactic and Spiritual Origins, which will be released soon, and I'm currently writing my second book about humanity's future.

Because of this background, I've been paying close attention to the conversations surrounding artificial intelligence. I don't look at AI simply from a technological perspective. I also think about it through the lens of spirituality, consciousness, environmentalism, and our responsibility to one another.

And the first thing I want to say is this:

Technology isn't evil or bad. Technology can do incredible things. It can improve our lives, solve problems, make dangerous work safer, and help us use our resources more efficiently.

When I think about the future, I see many possibilities for technology to enhance life for both humanity and the planet. We can do beautiful things with technology.

We could use AI to analyze enormous amounts of data and determine the best locations for renewable energy projects, helping us optimize the placement of wind and solar installations.

We could use AI to improve the food supply chain and help feed people around the world by reducing food waste, predicting shortages, and optimizing distribution.

Technology could also take over some of the repetitive or undesirable jobs that humans don't necessarily want to perform.

Consider agriculture. Future farming technology could take over repetitive, physically exhausting, and hazardous tasks that many farmworkers currently perform. What if, rather than spending their days doing physically demanding labor, some agricultural workers could be trained in regenerative farming practices, soil health, and ecosystem management?

Or consider law enforcement. Think about the police officers who sit along highways monitoring traffic and waiting for people to speed. What if technology could handle more of that routine enforcement while police officers were able to spend more of their time helping people, preventing crime, responding to emergencies, and engaging with their communities?

Technology could also help keep people out of dangerous environments. Drones and autonomous ground robots could enter toxic waste sites, unstable buildings, or deep pipelines to collect information and perform inspections without putting human workers in harm's way.

There are countless hazardous, repetitive, and physically demanding jobs where AI and robotics could potentially make work safer and more accessible (reference here).

However, there is another side to this conversation that we can't ignore. It's no secret that the rapid expansion of AI data centers is creating legitimate concerns for our planet.

AI data centers require enormous amounts of electricity because they operate thousands of high-performance servers around the clock. Those servers also generate significant amounts of heat, requiring cooling systems that consume substantial quantities of water.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the electricity currently supplying data centers comes from a combination of the following sources (reference here):

Coal - 30%

Renewables (wind, solar, and hydro) - 27%

Natural gas - 26%

Nuclear - 15%

There is some encouraging news. The IEA also reports that renewable energy is the fastest-growing source of electricity for data centers, with renewable generation expected to increase substantially between 2024 and 2030.

This is the direction I believe we need to continue moving toward.

Coal and natural gas come with significant environmental and public-health consequences. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, which is the primary driver of our warming planet. The effects of global warming are contributing to stronger storms and natural disasters, severe health risks, food shortage, and loss of animal habitats.

Coal-fired power plants also release pollutants such as mercury and fine particulate matter, which can cause asthma, bronchitis, heart attack, as well as damage to the brain and nervous system.

Natural gas plants emit nitrogen oxides, which contribute to immediate inflammation of the airways, reduced lung function, and chronic bronchitis.

So I have a simple question for anyone who supports continued dependence on fossil fuels: would you want to live next to a coal or natural-gas plant?

If we're going to build the technology of the future, shouldn't we also build the energy infrastructure of the future? To me, that means investing much more heavily in renewable energy.

And then there is the water issue. This may be an even bigger concern as our planet continues to warm and water resources become increasingly stressed.

The Colorado River system provides water for roughly 40 million people across seven western states and is an important source of freshwater for communities throughout the Southwest. Lakes Powell and Mead, two enormous reservoirs supplied by the river, have experienced historically low levels amid a prolonged drought.

Against this backdrop, California's largest AI data center project, Imperial Valley Computer Manufacturing, is suing for access to 287 million gallons of Colorado River water (reference here)

This is just one example of the tension that can arise when communities are already dealing with limited freshwater resources while demand from new data center projects continues to grow.

There is also another concern: water contamination.

For example, during a routine inspection of wastewater from a massive Meta datacenter under construction in Cheyenne, Wyoming, officials discovered Cupriavidus gilardii, a rare bacterium that can potentially pose health concerns. Although approximately 801,000 gallons of wastewater were discharged into the sewer system rather than the public drinking-water supply, the discovery raised concerns about the potential environmental and health implications.

In Georgia, the nonprofit Flint Riverkeeper has announced plans to sue the QTS datacenter in Fayetteville, alleging that the facility has discharged large quantities of sediment and elevated concentrations of metals into the Flint River over the past two years (reference here).

I've heard the phrase, "Just because we can, doesn't mean we should."

I think this is one of the most important ideas for humanity to consider as our technological abilities continue to expand. Technology can move incredibly quickly. But our ethics, wisdom, and consciousness need to evolve alongside it.

This is where spirituality enters the conversation. I believe it is important for humanity to increase our understanding of consciousness and spirituality in parallel with our technological advancement. As we develop increasingly powerful technologies, we also need to develop the wisdom to use them responsibly.

Interestingly, while technology is rapidly advancing, many people are also experiencing what they describe as a spiritual awakening. People are questioning old beliefs, exploring consciousness, and beginning to consider whether there is a deeper purpose to life and a much larger reality beyond what we have traditionally understood.

This brings me to the conversation surrounding the so-called "doomsday AI" scenario. Can AI kill humanity?

I understand why people are asking the question. There are legitimate concerns about what increasingly powerful technology could potentially do if it is used irresponsibly. But I also think some of the discussion around AI has become unnecessarily fear-mongering.

AI is a tool. Like many technologies, its impact depends on the people creating it, controlling it, and deciding how it should be used. If humanity continues operating primarily from fear, greed, competition, and the desire for power, then of course increasingly powerful technology could create problems.

But what if humanity evolves?

What if our technological advancement happens alongside an expansion of consciousness? As our consciousness evolves, perhaps our priorities begin to change. We focus less on greed and competition and more on compassion, community, our planet, and the well-being of humanity as a whole.

I can see that people are already pushing back against the rapid expansion of AI data centers. Many communities are concerned about energy consumption, water usage, pollution, and the environmental impact of these facilities. I think that pushback is healthy. Humanity is finding our voice. That's a good thing!

When people ask questions and demand better solutions, it forces companies and governments to innovate. It creates pressure to develop technologies that minimize environmental damage. That is how progress happens.

I believe it is possible to live in a world where technology is used to improve humanity's quality of life while also protecting and restoring our planet. But we aren't there yet.

We still rely heavily on fossil fuels that contribute to climate change and harm human health. We still have systems that prioritize financial gain over environmental and community well-being. And we still have a tendency to develop technologies simply because we can, without always stopping to ask whether we should.

Perhaps the next stage of human evolution isn't about choosing between technology and spirituality. Perhaps it's about bringing them together.

The future of humanity will be shaped by our free-will choices: how we care for our planet and ourselves, how we treat one another, and ultimately, what kind of future we choose to create.

The way we care for our planet and our fellow human beings is a reflection of how we feel about ourselves. As humanity remembers who we truly are—as spiritual and divine beings having a human experience—we can begin to approach life from a different place. A place of love rather than fear. Community rather than competition. Creation rather than destruction.

And I believe our technology will follow.

The technology of our future doesn't have to be something we fear. It can become a reflection of our evolution—a tool that helps us restore our planet, explore our universe, promote collective well-being, and create a world where humanity and the Earth can thrive together.

Perhaps the real question isn't whether technology will determine the future of humanity.

Perhaps the real question is: Who do we want to become?