HUMAN WEAKNESSES IN THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
SEPT 21, SUNDAY
2025年9月21日，星期日
TOPIC: HUMAN WEAKNESSES IN THE AGE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
主题：人工智能时代的人性弱点
This afternoon we held a seminar titled “AI and Humans,” where we reflected together on an urgent question: how will artificial intelligence amplify human weaknesses and reshape our understanding of what it means to be human? The discussion arose from an observable phenomenon: while AI brings efficiency and power, it also magnifies some of our ancient and deep-rooted flaws. The following points are mainly drawn from this book:
今天下午我们开展了一场“人工智能与人类”的研讨会，大家一同反思了一个迫在眉睫的问题：人工智能将如何放大人类的弱点，又将如何重塑我们对“何为人”的理解？这场讨论源自于已经看得到的一个现象：AI 带来效率与力量的同时，也会放大一些我们古老而根深蒂固的缺陷。以下观点主要源自本书。
Take “bias” as an example of a human weakness: it stems from the limited ways people collect and process information. In the AI era, when it seems that massive data and instant analysis can supply “complete knowledge,” it is easy to forget that what we obtain remains partial and is shaped by hidden assumptions. When people over-trust AI’s answers, they may build self-enclosing information cocoons that deepen existing prejudices.
以“偏见”这种人性的弱点为例，它源自于人类收集和处理信息方式的局限。AI时代，似乎通过海量数据与即时分析就能提供“完整知识”，人们很容易忘记所获仍是片面的、被隐含假设所塑造的。当人们过度信赖 AI 的答案，就有可能筑起自我封闭的信息茧房，加深既有偏见。
Another human weakness—narcissism—is often described as a natural stage of growth: at birth we feel omnipotent, and maturity requires a gradual development of rational self-reflection. However, in interactions with AI, it caters to our desire for self-affirmation, shields us from criticism, and amplifies narcissistic tendencies, tempting users to immerse themselves in contexts without failure or discomfort. In this way, AI can cut the very path of self-awareness that shapes “rational persons.”
人性中的另一个弱点“自恋”，常常被描述为人类成长的一个自然阶段：出生时觉得自己无所不能，而成熟是一个逐步形成理性的自我反省过程。然而，与AI的互动过程中，它迎合人类寻求自我肯定的欲望，屏蔽批评，放大人类的自恋人性，诱使用户沉浸在没有失败与不适的情境中。如此一来，AI 很有可能割断这条塑造“理性人”的自我觉察之路。
The third weakness identified is the decline of patience and the rise of laziness. Human nature tends toward comfort and avoiding hardship. When AI makes every task faster, the motivation to think deeply or to practice deliberately decreases; people become restless and seek only quick gratification.
第三个被指出的弱点是耐心的衰退与惰性的增长。人性趋向于“好吃懒做”。当 AI 让每项任务都变得更快时，深入思考或刻意练习的动力便会减少，人们变得浮躁，只追求速成的满足。
Finally, curiosity and creativity—the driving forces of human progress—are at risk of being dulled. When every question can be answered in seconds, the motivation to explore fades; as AI’s responses converge into predictable patterns, the diverse sparks of human imagination gradually dim.
最后，好奇心与创造力——人类进步的原动力，也有被钝化的风险。当每个问题都能在数秒内得到回答时，探索的动力会消退；当 AI 的回应趋于可预期的模式，人类想象的多样火花也会渐渐黯淡。
The book Human Weaknesses in the AI Era is only about a hundred pages; some classmates had already read its e-book before coming to the seminar. In addition to reviewing and summarizing this book, Teacher Jinlu also prepared and recommended 18 more titles! By surveying these classic Eastern and Western works on human nature, we can glimpse how various cultures observe human nature and where they converge or differ. Below are the things we learned from those extended readings:
《AI时代，人性的弱点》这本书篇幅只有100多页，有些同学在来到读书会的现场之前，已经读过这本书的电子版。然后，除了针对这本书的回顾与总结，金鹿老师还另外准备并推荐了18本书！通过梳理这些东西方探讨人性的经典书籍，我们得以窥见各种文化中，对人性的观察以及其中的同与异。以下是我们从这些扩展阅读中了解到的：
不同文化视角下的人性观
HUMAN NATURE IN DIFFERENT CULTURES’ PERSPECTIVE:
The seminar then turned to the broader theme of how cultures around the world have understood human nature.
研讨会随后转向更宽广的主题：全球各文化如何理解人性。
To help everyone connect the two cultural contexts that participants grew up in, Teacher Jinlu specially presented the following material:
为让大家连结与会者成长的两种文化语境，金鹿老师特意呈现了以下内容：
中国视角
IN CHINESE PERSPECTIVE:
In Chinese philosophy, Mencius famously argued that “human nature is good,” comparing it to water flowing downward. His view—echoed in Confucian teachings—stresses that people are born with the seeds of virtue but must be nurtured through family, education, and upright governance.
在中国哲学中，孟子著名地主张“性善”，将人性比作顺流而下的水。他的观点—在儒家教说中回响—强调人天生带有善的种子，但需要通过家庭、教育与正直的治理予以滋养。
By contrast, Xunzi held that “human nature is evil,” arguing that goodness is an artificial product created through rites, law, and education. Legalist thinkers like Han Fei and Li Si took this idea to the extreme, viewing people as selfish, almost animalistic beings who require absolute authority and harsh laws to be restrained.
相对地，荀子则主张“性恶”，认为善是通过礼法与教化人工打造的成果。法家思想家如韩非、李斯则将此观念推至极端，把人视为自私、近乎兽性的存在，需要绝对权威与严刑峻法来加以约束。
Meanwhile, Daoism and Buddhism offer an entirely different perspective: the Tao Te Ching reminds us that “Heaven and Earth are impartial, treating all things like straw dogs,” while Buddhist texts such as the Diamond Sutra and Hui Neng’s verses portray reality as transient and illusory, emphasizing liberation from attachment.
与此同时，道家与佛教则提供了另一种全然不同的视角：《道德经》提醒我们“天地不仁，以万物为刍狗”，而佛教经典如《金刚经》与惠能的偈颂则将现实视为无常幻相，强调从执着中解脱。
在西方的目光
IN THE EYES OF THE WEST:
The Western tradition also contains contrasting accounts.
西方传统亦有其对立的论述。
Christianity introduced the doctrine of Original Sin: from birth people carry seven deadly tendencies—pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. The challenge of life is to overcome these through faith, community, and redemption. Literature has long wrestled with these themes: Dante’s Divine Comedy is a long journey through sin and salvation; Hamlet probes the complexity of conscience and the tension between action and paralysis; Cervantes’s Don Quixote presents both the nobility and the folly of human ideals.
基督教引入了“原罪”教义：人生来便携带七宗致命倾向——傲慢、贪婪、色欲、嫉妒、暴食、愤怒与懒惰。人生的挑战在于通过信仰、社群与救赎来超越这些倾向。文学长期与这些观念搏斗：但丁的《神曲》是对罪与救赎的长途；《哈姆雷特》探讨人类良知的复杂性与行动与瘫痪之间的张力；塞万提斯的《堂吉诃德》则同时呈现人类理想的高贵与荒诞。
Later, the Renaissance celebrated human initiative and freedom, while the Enlightenment sought to design institutions—such as the separation of powers—based on theories of human nature. Yet that freedom also gave rise to hedonism and nihilism, questions echoed in Shakespeare’s timeless “To be or not to be.”
其后，文艺复兴歌颂人的能动与自由；启蒙时代则基于对人性的理解去构建制度，如三权分立等。然而，这种自由也催生了享乐主义与虚无主义的思潮，其疑问在莎士比亚那句“生存还是毁灭”中回荡。
Postmodernism later proclaimed “God is dead,” calling for new values and raising Nietzsche’s idea of the Übermensch; 19th- and 20th-century writers and poets depicted the suffering and contradictions of modern humanity.
后现代主义进一步宣告“上帝已死”，呼唤新价值并带出尼采的“超人”理念；19、20 世纪的作家与诗人则描绘了现代人类的苦难与矛盾。
“God is dead”goes hard lol.
Finally, the seminar closed with a powerful reminder:
最后，研讨以一句有力的提醒作为结束：
AI may outperform humans in calculations, memory, or even creativity by imitation, but it can never feel the joy of Don Quixote’s battle against the windmill, the freedom of Dante’s soul after redemption, or the profound happiness Nietzsche envisioned in the “superhuman.” These are experiences tied to courage, suffering, and the search for meaning — things no algorithm can live through. To preserve our uniqueness in a digitalizing world, we must value creativity, humility, patience, and imagination.
人工智能或许在计算、记忆，甚至以模仿方式在创造力上胜过人类，但它绝不能体会堂吉诃德与风车“搏斗”的那种喜悦，不能体验但丁灵魂获救后的自由，也无法感受尼采所设想的“超人”式深沉的幸福。这些体验与勇气、苦难及对意义的追寻紧密相连——是任何算法无法亲历的。要在数字化世界中保全我们的独特性，我们必须珍视创造力、谦逊、耐心与想象力。
As recommended, we can turn to timeless works such as “Journey to the West”, “Three Kingdoms”, and “Dream of the Red Chamber” from China, alongside “Don Quixote”, “Hamlet”, and Dante’s “Divine Comedy” from the West. Each of these classics, in its own way, illuminates the paradoxes and possibilities of human nature.
两个小时虽然不长，但我们纵横捭阖，回望了东方的《西游记》、《三国演义》、《红楼梦》以及西方的《堂吉诃德》、《哈姆雷特》与但丁的《神曲》。这些经典各以其方式照见了人性的悖论与可能。
AI may be able to replace certain tasks, but it will never replace the essence of humanity: a strong mind, a brave heart, and a soft soul.
AI 也许能替代某些任务，但绝不会取代人性的核心：刚毅的心智、勇敢的心、与柔软的灵魂。
“a strong mind, a brave heart, and a soft soul.”
作者简介Author Bio：
Frank Ding is a grade 8 student in Pilgrim Wood Public School. He enjoys Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time, exploring topics related to quantum computing, playing basketball, and walking the dogs in his family.
Frank Ding是皮尔格林伍德公立学校（Pilgrim Wood Public School）的八年级学生。他喜欢阅读史蒂芬·霍金的《时间简史》，也热衷于探索量子计算相关主题，此外还喜欢打篮球、帮家里遛狗。
