Impromptu: Amplifying Our Humanity Through AI would make mechanized travel even more liberating and auton- omous than the standard automobile. “You will go straight up in the air, and follow the air traffic lines, then descend at any place you wish,” he exclaimed. Reid: GPT-4, how does this anecdote relate to the idea that technological advances make us more human? What does it mean to use technology to be more human, in terms of amplifying the defining characteris- tics of humanity? GPT-4: This anecdote could relate to the idea that tech- nological advances make us more human in a few ways. For one, the helicar that Gernsback envisioned would allow people to move more freely, and with less frus- tration. This would give people more control over their lives and allow them to spend less time stuck in traffic, and more time engaged in meaningful activities. In this way, technology could be seen as amplifying our human desirefor freedom and autonomy. Additionally, Gernsback’s enthusiasm and imagination in describing the helicar speaks to the human drive to create and innovate. Human beings are natural prob- lem-solvers, and technology often becomes the vehi- cle through which we address challenges and make improvements to our lives. In this sense, technological advances can be seen as an expression of our human ingenuity and creativity. Nearly fifty years after Gernsback imagined that helicars would become a standard feature of America’s cities, companies like Joby Aviation are finally on the verge of making that vision a reality. What’s even more notable about Gernsback’s dream of air taxis is not the ambition of his timetable, but rather that he dared to dream it in the first place. 188