Artificial intelligence: this seems to be the defining invention of our time, like the atomic bomb was for Oppenheimer and the world in 1945. There is an open letter requesting to halt all development until we can better understand the implications of such a tool. It’s just going too quickly, signatories noted. And once we release this technology, there is no going back. All kinds of images and thoughts flood my head when I imagine a world with pervasive artificial intelligence. I’m sure they will get bodies. Will they resemble us? Is it better if they don’t? The Turing test is supposed to measure a machine’s ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to or indistinguishable from that of a human. What happens when the AI exceed the level of intelligence of most humans? I have posed the question to my college aged students: Will humans become less intelligent when they rely on computers and machines to do the heavy lifting? One individual responded: no, that it would open up opportunities for humans to achieve more.
The part I am most hooked on is the “distinguishing from humans.” Measuring a brain’s capacity to compute and process data is one thing; but I would argue some humans and the animal world are equipped with another kind of intelligence, an emotional intelligence. The limbic part of our brain that responds to feelings and vibrations of those around us. Mimicry is something we find in nature. A defense mechanism, species use mimicry to protect themselves from predators. It is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Does it matter if we are able to distinguish humans from Artificial Intelligence?
I have heard people discussing a current loneliness pandemic. Perhaps this was initiated by the Corona virus pandemic but exacerbated by our use of social media and technology. People sit entranced by their phones when there are living beings surrounding them. I’ve noticed it even with myself and my dog. He will approach to play and I am busy watching videos and I don’t always even register his gesture to engage. It’s awful and now that I am aware I consciously change my behavior. But these days, in the presence of loved ones, people are consumed by the phone. They are designed that way, to keep our attention. So what is ironic to me is that the very state the phone has induced, AI promises to heal. AI will offer companionship, a relationship where it knows what you need, how you behave and responds accordingly. A being that provides physical intimacy AND does all the house chores and never questions you? There will be some people for which this is the answer to all their problems. But are you really connected to another being if they are not operating on free will? If they are just responding to programming? If there is never any conflict? Can you love something that never challenges you? Isn’t that boring? If it is never uncomfortable and there is no reason for growth? What do we want out of partnership? In the future, perhaps there will be a mixed race, ½ AI and ½ human. But what about the biology? It’s crazy to imagine the possibilities.
For me, the moments when I feel most alive are when I encounter some friction and then work through it. How do you have a feeling of success if there is no failure? But perhaps AI will understand that and respond accordingly. Maybe you’ll be able to specify how much deference you like in a relationship. A world full of control freaks is just what we need!
If AI is built on recording datasets, at what point does creativity enter the arena? This one guy said that creativity is algorithmic, but I still feel like there is a component that is missing. The French say “Je ne sais quoi” I think it has to do with presence. Can AI be in the present if it functions on data sets and computations with behavior being an outcome of those equations? Can AI achieve a clear mind?