In a recent column in the Forward, Louis Keene wrote about the value Jewish tradition puts on a concept called Ameilut, a rabbinic idea that there is religious value to toiling in Torah — putting effort into Torah study — rather than just the acquisition of Torah knowledge. In the essay, “Knowing vs. Learning: Which Takes Precedence?” discussing the then theoretical question of whether or not it would be good to insert microchips into our brains to acquire Torah knowledge, Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm wrote, “Maimonides answers that the Greek philosophers taught us that the one who was born perfect is preferable, because a person who already has his perfection is the ideal for which we aim…But, he continues, the Jewish sages prefer the one who is constantly involved in the struggle with his own self, with his own darker forces, and overcomes them…the struggle is more precious than the prize.”

In a world where artificial intelligence is making nearly everything increasingly instantaneous and effortless, Keene offers Ameilut as a guiding principle that underscores the value of toiling in any endeavor — in his case, cooking and writing — seeing it as “the very essence of what it means to be alive.” In 2025, I wrote a similar essay about the need for Jewish educators to rethink what toiling in Torah in the age of AI could look like in order to preserve Ameilut as a fundamental human and religious value. However, I’ve come to recognize that both of our approaches neglect the more critical areas of human life that we will need to toil in as a society. Toiling isn’t just about hard work in enjoyable endeavors, but also in necessary subjects. Right now, we need to labor in determining how human beings should balance our personal use of AI with society’s collective well-being.

Artificial intelligence promises utopia, but is predicted to come at a steep cost. Experts predict massive workplace disruption as thousands lose their jobs to artificial intelligence and automation. There are growing reports of cases of AI-induced psychosis and ChatGPT’s impact on our cognitive capabilities, and the impact of data centers on the environment has been a cause for international concern. To make matters worse, whistleblowers have revealed that the creators of some of these AIs have little to no concern for the consequences of their inventions.

We need to make serious conversations about ethics and AI a priority. We need to go beyond useless platitudes like “some jobs will go away, but new jobs will be created,” without any real understanding of what those jobs will actually be. We need to figure out how families will support themselves during that disruption, or how recent and soon-to-be college graduates should adjust to this new reality. How should businesses integrate AI ethically, knowing that their decisions to use AI will potentially increase profits and productivity, but at the cost of unprecedented numbers of people’s livelihoods? How should our kids safely engage with AI?

Dr. Denise Turley, a leader in conversations on responsible technology use and the ethical integration of AI, suggested that non-profits invest in offering AI literacy courses to help people transition into new careers. However, she also acknowledged “they’re not enough on their own. Learning new skills takes time—sometimes months or years—and during that period, families still need to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads.” In the Jewish community, non-profit organizations that offer financial support, like the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, Jewish Family & Children’s Services, and the Hebrew Free Loan Society, need to begin conversations about where and how they will procure the funds needed to support families who will lose their jobs to automation. Like Joseph, they need to start preparing for seven years of famine while we are still in the seven years of plenty.

We also need to invest in meaning, and that investment will be a different kind of Ameilut. For many, work is a primary means of identity and self-worth, and if they lose that part of their lives, they will be left with a spiritual deficit. Additionally, the improvement of AI capabilities may lead many to question what it is about humanity that makes it special. AI proponent Moshe Koppel has written about how the Jewish practice of communal study could be an antidote to the challenges of social isolation that a fully online, and potentially laborless, world can produce. This is something our communities need to build infrastructure for now to respond to the critical spiritual emergencies that are on the horizon.

Our Ameilut needs to be in figuring out how we are going to respond to these looming threats to society. As Jewish history has shown us, we are capable. But we must begin now.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)