If value is reduced to a single metric, theoretically, everything in existence can be converted into data—including human beings. Once humans are turned into data, they become entities that are simultaneously anyone and no one; values ​​such as “individual freedom,” “individuality,” and “diversity” effectively vanish into thin air. (Kei Kitajima)

Following announcements by Silicon Valley AI firms like OpenAI and Anthropic regarding the risk of AI spiraling out of control, I have spent some time discussing the technical issues surrounding AI; now, however, I wish to return to the main thread of this series: the transformation of humans into data and its consequences.

In the age of AI, human beings themselves are being converted into data.
As humans are turned into data, the human essence becomes abstracted, as do language and communication. In such a world, the traditional sense of daily life will likely be lost. What kind of lives and economic activities will humans lead once they have lost that sense of lived experience?
Modern society is characterized by the advance of reductionism, where diverse values ​​are reduced to a single value—or, to put it bluntly, economic value. Particularly in capitalist societies like those in the West and Japan, the tendency to measure value in monetary terms has become deeply entrenched. When most people speak of “value,” they almost invariably have economic value in mind. In reality, there are many different types of value that cannot be reduced to a single metric, yet we have come to force everything into the framework of monetary value.
When value is unified into a single metric, it becomes relatively easy to calculate and visualize that value. Calculating and visualizing value is, in essence, the process of converting it into data. If value is unified, theoretically, everything in existence can be converted into data—including human beings.
To convert something into data is to abstract it. “Abstraction” refers to the process of extracting only common characteristics or key points from a multitude of things and grouping them together based on broad meanings or general categories. Incidentally, the antonym of abstraction is “concreteness,” which signifies that individual forms and distinctions are clearly defined.
What does it mean for human beings to be reduced to data and abstractions? It means that individual personality and diversity vanish, transforming people into entities that are simultaneously anyone and no one.
The so-called “free world”—including Western nations and Japan—continues to uphold values ​​such as “individual freedom,” “individuality,” and “diversity.” Yet, in a world where humans are reduced to data and abstractions, these values ​​are effectively disregarded.
There is no room for “individual freedom,” “individuality,” or “diversity” in an existence that is simultaneously anyone and no one. Consequently, the traditional sense of everyday life is also lost.
AI accelerates the currents and trends of the times. As we witness a shift where humans are reduced to data and abstractions—causing values ​​like “individual freedom,” “individuality,” and “diversity” to lose their substance and eroding our traditional sense of life—AI threatens to further accelerate this trajectory.
What lies ahead may well be the collapse of democracy, driven by the rampant spread of nihilism and the loss of meaningful values.
Silicon Valley AI companies warn of the dangers of AI spiraling out of control and express concern that mismanaging AI could shake the very foundations of society; perhaps they foresee the collapse of democracy resulting from this pervasive nihilism.
I view AI—and indeed any technology—as both a tool and a driving force; however, I consider AI to be an exceptionally powerful driver among the tools humanity has ever acquired.
If technology is built upon a foundation of inequality and instability, those conditions will persist and expand.
In short, the issue is not whether technology itself is good or bad, but rather the environment in which that technology exists. The environment in which technology exists is the society we inhabit.
In a society where “individual freedom,” “individuality,” and “diversity” are firmly rooted, AI should fundamentally serve to expand these very qualities. Conversely, in a society rife with nihilism and teetering on the brink of democratic collapse, AI will likely accelerate that disintegration.
Given this reality, as AI becomes widely adopted, there is but one course of action for us.
We must break free from the homogenization of values ​​and strive once more for a plurality of values, thereby reclaiming “individual freedom,” “individuality,” and “diversity” in their true sense.

※Translating Japanese articles into English with AI