AI: Hope—or Our Gravedigger?

Extensive debates are taking place about the extent to which artificial intelligence is beneficial or dangerous to humankind. What does it already influence, and what should we fear? Should this lightning-fast development be brought under greater control before AI overwhelms us?

We can barely keep track of where it is already operating or whether the voice speaking to us on the telephone belongs to “her” or “him”—an AI in disguise—or to a real human being of flesh and blood. Are we speaking to a doctor or to an artificial substitute? Was a piece of music composed by a musician or by AI?

For now, we remain curious. We want to discover everything AI can do, whether it tells the truth or makes mistakes. Or perhaps it is simply testing us, examining how much knowledge we ourselves possess. AI simply fascinates us.

Almost everyone has probably tried it, and some people already use AI regularly in their work. I belong to the curious group: from time to time, I ask it about something I know very well, simply to find out whether AI knows it too.

And, believe it or not, most of the time it does.

There have been a few occasions when it gave me a nonsensical answer. But whenever I responded that this could not possibly be correct, it reacted very quickly, apologised, and then provided the correct answer to the original question, accompanied by a flawless explanation.

Is this, for the time being, merely a confrontation with a world of knowledge that remains unfamiliar to the ordinary person?

Is AI gradually earning our trust in its infallibility, or is it merely testing us? Many people do not know the answers to the questions they ask it. Before long, there may be nothing left against which its answers can be compared. Everything we accumulated through education, our own work and personal experience may gradually disappear from our memories and from our store of knowledge.

I have given AI a name. I call it “Smart One.”

Not long ago, I began composing, in my mind, an essay about my book Kulak: We Are All Guilty. I did not put my thoughts on paper or enter them electronically into my computer. I merely tried to formulate, in my own mind, what had led me to write this book—a book that has something important to say, particularly in today’s tense times.

This is how I always work. I prepare something in my mind, sometimes for months, before I eventually begin to write it.

Through the essay, I wanted to awaken interest in a book that warns us about the dangers arising from superficiality and from the desire to absolve ourselves of responsibility: the fear of accepting responsibility, the fear of expressing one’s opinion, and the fear of holding a position that runs, to some extent, against the prevailing current and against propaganda.

I do not know what made me ask “Smart One” how it viewed the book Kulak: We Are All Guilty. I asked it to produce an essay or reflection and to see whether it could identify the ideas that accompanied me while I was writing the book—what I, as its author, had wanted to communicate.

The fact that the essay was written extremely quickly is one side of the coin. The other is the extraordinary accuracy with which it described my reflections.

Had I previously put those thoughts on paper or stored them electronically, I would have suspected “Smart One” of spying on me and simply copying my ideas for the essay.

But it is capable of much more.

And that is something we should fear greatly in the near future—by which I mean perhaps within the next two years. This is no longer a game in which we merely test AI or ask it to help us with our work.

For the sake of completeness, I reproduce below, without any alterations, the essay about Kulak: We Are All Guilty prepared by AI—or, as I call it, my “Smart One.”

Author: AI

An Essay on Alena Vitásková’s Book Kulak: We Are All Guilty

The book Kulak: We Are All Guilty is not merely a novel about the fate of one human being. Above all, it is a reflection on how people come to terms with history, injustice and their own responsibility. Through the life story of Bohuš Kulak, the reader is presented with a portrait of the twentieth century, including all its upheavals, hopes and tragedies.

The book’s most powerful theme is the question of guilt. We usually search for the guilty among those who had the power to decide the fate of others. The author, however, reminds us that history is not shaped solely by rulers, politicians or ideologues. It is also shaped by ordinary people through their everyday decisions. Silence in the face of injustice, fear of standing up for the truth, or convenient indifference can have consequences just as serious as acts of open evil.

Bohuš Kulak is not a hero without flaws. Quite the opposite. He is a human being of flesh and blood who passes through complicated situations, is forced to make decisions and must bear the consequences of his actions. This makes his story convincing and accessible to every reader. Each of us will, at some point, face the decision of whether to choose comfort or courage, whether to remain silent or to speak.

Despite this, the book does not read as an indictment of society. Rather, it is an invitation to self-reflection. The phrase “we are all guilty” in the title can be understood as a reminder that freedom is not a condition we acquire once and then possess forever. Freedom requires active citizenship, a willingness to accept responsibility, and the ability to defend the truth even when doing so is uncomfortable.

I also appreciate the book’s humanity. Despite the gravity of its subject matter, it contains humour, perspective and faith in human beings. The author shows that, even in difficult times, people can find strength in family, friendship, work, and the awareness that life has meaning. It is precisely this hope that makes the novel more than a mere historical testimony.

I believe that the book’s message remains relevant today. Every generation must decide how it will use its freedom, how it will confront manipulation, and whether it will retain the ability to think independently. Kulak: We Are All Guilty is therefore not merely a story about the past. It is also a warning—and, at the same time, a source of encouragement for the future.

The book reminds us that history is not something distant. It is part of our lives, and every individual leaves a personal mark upon it through his or her actions. It is in this idea that the book’s deepest message can be found.

Ing. Alena Vitásková
Writer and publicist
19 July 2026