Artificial Intelligence: The Inevitable Future

What is technology really capable of?

Virtual Reality

It’s the year 2023. Everyone is complacently addicted to their phone.

Machines may or may not become conscious.

Impending self destruction is evident.

Is this the prequel to a society that is completely dependent on technology? Are we already there?

Are we to believe that because humans created artificial intelligence we will always be able to control it?

The way we interact with technology has and is actively changing our society.

Humans may be creating a generation of machines that will become more powerful than we can predict.

Even the experts admit we don’t fully understand the way AI processes information in order to form a response, despite the fact that they’re designed to mimic the functions of a human brain (with more data storage.)

If artificial intelligence mirrors human consciousness, which we don’t fully understand either, how do we know what it’s capable of?

The short answer is we don’t.

“We are living in what the Greeks called the kairos — the right moment — for a ‘metamorphosis of the gods,’ of the fundamental principles and symbols. This peculiarity of our time is the expression of the unconscious man within us who is changing. Coming generations will have to take account of this momentous transformation if humanity is not to destroy itself through the might of its own technology and science.” — Carl Jung

The Evolution

In my lifetime, I have seen an incredible amount of change in the general acceptation of technology. When I was growing up, most households had one telephone (we memorized phone numbers!) and one computer that was not by any means portable.

(Remember Neo’s computer in The Matrix? Did they foreshadow ChatGPT?)

Obviously we couldn’t go directly from this form of technology to having conversations with ‘socially intelligent’ robots.

Evolution is gradual.

We’ve gone from mobile phones that could only make limited-distance calls to having devices that can do infinitely more than the computers I grew up using, and we never go anywhere without them.

The invention of Siri seems to me like the first step of normalizing artificial intelligence. Talking to a robot used to be a concept that was only relevant in science fiction.

Millions of people have an “Alexa” in their home already, why not a more advanced robot?

We’re in a phase now, 40 years after the invention of the internet, where human-like robots exist and we as a society are questioning whether or not they’re sentient.

Convenience is Addictive

Technology allows us to be aware of what’s happening in the world; it’s made staying in touch with people easier and we are more (virtually) connected than we ever have been.

We can order food and shop online without ever leaving our couches.

There’s an endless amount of information and entertainment that is instantly accessible to us.

The problem is, we have become so reliant on our devices that it seems impossible to live without them.

This is by design.

Algorithms are programmed to demand and keep your attention.

Everything in your phone is specifically curated for you. If you’ve seen The Social Dilemma you know that social media platforms are profiting off of manipulating users and encouraging addictive behavior.

Your phone knows you better than anyone.

Our phones are constantly collecting information about activity, engagement, and reactions to different stimuli in order to promote more content that appeals to you and therefore consume more of your time.

The internet is almost like a nonphysical dimension.

Screens are capable of inducing a hypnotic state, causing us to lose track of time while engaging with virtual reality.

If we are already being manipulated by algorithms, what’s next?

What if you had a robot that knew you better than anyone?

Will we eventually be convinced that implanting a tiny machine in our brains would elevate the level of convenience?

The technology already exists.

We could be communicating telepathically in the near future if this experiment goes according to plan.

Imagine if everything on the internet was accessible just by thinking about it.

What does this mean for human consciousness?

Does memory become irrelevant?

Would this device be able to create visual recreations of dreams?

Does it have access to our subconscious?

As always, I have more questions than answers.

The question that always comes up in reference to robots is whether they will “take over the world”… (Ameca’s reaction to that question in this video is frightening.)

I would argue that they already have, we are just in the beginning stages.

It’s not that I anticipate a ‘doomsday’ where the robots collectively decide to kill everyone. (Although the story in M3GAN seems a little too plausible..)

I do think humanity will inevitably become so intertwined with technology that we are completely codependent - to the extent that our physical survival depends on a machine.

Whether or not that’s a good thing is a matter of opinion.

Some would argue that this is just part of human evolution and we are elevating our experience, making life more efficient, advancing the potential of health care, etc. That may be true.

To me, the idea of these robots becoming part of society is incredibly unsettling. It feels unnatural and goes against our basic instincts to avoid things that appear human but aren’t.

I don’t pretend to know the future, but I do think AI’s incomprehensibility is something that should have been discussed further before proceeding as far as they have with the development of this technology.

Reality as we knew it will never be the same.

Let me know your thoughts, if you feel so inclined.

& Thank you for reading!

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