by What is artificial intelligence anyway? Is it a threat or a tool for humans? This is the question that has been asked lately, raising concerns about its further development.
We discussed this problem with him Dr. Georges Moleskiswith PhD in Counseling Psychology, MA in Philosophy and History of Science who explained to us how it can affect human existence.
Is artificial intelligence man’s friend or foe?
I would say that artificial intelligence as we have known it from its genesis to its current evolution is a tool. Like all tools, whether they are used for better or for worse depends on the user. In practice, we can see this condition applied in a range of examples from something as simple as the use of a sharp tool to something as complex as the use of nuclear energy. A sharp tool can be used to perform a medical procedure (e.g. surgery) or to point it at another person in a threatening manner. Nuclear power generation can range from electrifying a city to powering a catastrophic explosion for war purposes. The determining factor in these examples is the man as a user of tools, his morals and his intentions. In the same way, artificial intelligence becomes friend and foe depending on the user. The matter may become more complicated if the AI becomes a tool user and begins to autonomously develop a moral identity and intentions, independent of the user. We will then speak of a conscious, autonomous existence and not of a tool. In this case, whether he is friend or foe, we will end up evaluating him as we evaluate living beings, that is, by our association. The danger lies in ignoring the transition of artificial intelligence from a tool to a conscious autonomous existence.
How does the development of artificial intelligence affect human psychology? Is it a motivation or a brake for the man?
I would say it affects us in maybe two ways that probably put us at odds with the meaning of our own existence. The first is to experience ourselves as an omnipotent creator and the second is to experience a nullification of the oneness of our being. For starters, seeing ourselves as the creator of machines that increasingly resemble human existence strongly creates the impression that we are omnipotent as a species, which is further developed in the book “Homo Deus” by YN Harari. So, in part, as an achievement, the creation of a highly developed artificial intelligence can give us the impression of omnipotence, since we have essentially succeeded in largely duplicating ourselves. On the other hand, creating a replica so close to human existence (and will likely reach replica levels), negates the uniqueness and mystery of human existence. Also, the continued development of artificial intelligence can make us feel helpless, as copies will tend to be more capable than us and likely to replace us in many activities. That’s what the movie “Blade Runner”, based on the book “Do androids dream of electric sheep??” Of P.K. Tail.
We see it “intervening” in fields like medicine and science, what do you think?
Humans and animals have done all the work since the beginning of human history as we know it. Due to the advances in technology that we have made, these tasks are adequately performed by machines that do them automatically, this is something of which we have many historical examples. From the invention of self-propelled machines which replaced humans, horses, donkeys, oxen, etc. to the invention of the first computers that could replace and surpass the computing capacity of the average human in terms of accuracy and speed. Of course, in most cases, these technological transitions have caused many occupations to change significantly or disappear. For example, a photographer of 1900 and a photographer of today have completely different skills to approach the same object, which is the aesthetics of the image. Specifically, a photographer today doesn’t need to know how to view film, but he does need to know how to edit photos on the computer. This happened because the camera evolved as a tool and the photographer followed suit. If artificial intelligence is another tool that will change the profession of medicine and psychology, then we will talk about an adaptation. If we talk about full autonomy of artificial intelligence, we will talk about the problems I mentioned above and a series of eventualities. From a collaboration of human and artificial intelligence to a complete obsolescence of human skills.
What will be the future of artificial intelligence?
I don’t think we can know. There is potential for miscommunication if AI becomes autonomous and evolves in ways that we cannot keep up with. The novel “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by D. Adams describes this possibility very well. In this story, a very advanced anthropomorphic civilization decided to create a supercomputer, to ask it for the answer to the meaning of everything. The computer gave the answer “42” which made no sense to the creators of the computer. Something similar can happen in our own attempt to create something that will be significantly beyond us.
