THE DIMINISHING RETURNS OF AI IN DIGITAL SOCIETIES: ONTOLOGICAL AND TELEOLOGICAL PROBLEMS IN HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT

In this essay, I discuss the highly problematic nature of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in terms of its conceptualisation and function. While AI is a defining technology in digital societies such as Vietnam, the often–deterministic discourse surrounding it perpetuates its superfluous and extractive nature. What has received lesser attention in AI scholarship are ontological and teleological considerations that concern both the discourse on AI and the workings of this technology itself. Considering the applications of AI in knowledge production, I explore why AI is antithetical to academic work. Global evidence also strongly suggests a negative correlation between AI use and human capacity building which yields diminishing returns. The current problematic orientation of AI is unlikely to yield positive long–term returns concerning human capital formation. With this critical reflection, I maintain that a re–centring of human capability rather than an egalitarian view of AI use is likely to foster aggregate social competence and long–term capacity building within contemporary digital societies. In this case, AI should not be seen as a partner but a dissimilar tool for limited usage that serve human ends.