We stand at the precipice of a new era. Artificial intelligence is evolving exponentially and machines are already challenging the very boundaries of human cognition. But, will technology ever truly possess consciousness? And if so, will humanity lose its unique place in the hierarchy of creation itself?
The Fear of Consciousness Without Restraints
The trump card of humankind is not just consciousness, but conscience. The most common fear surrounding AI and consciousness is the notion of intelligence unmoored by historical, societal and religious relationship to morality. If a machine were to develop consciousness, would that necessarily include a code of ethics, authentic empathy, and a sense of responsibility? Or would it simply optimize for efficiency without concern for human values?
Science fiction is rife with cautionary tales of what happens when intelligence is let loose among humans but without a shared ethical framework. The cinematic references of 2001: A space Odyssey and Blade Runner, to name just two, are now deeply ingrained in our collective cultural point of view. Existing AI has an almost eerie understanding of human thought processes and creativity but still lacks an inherent moral compass. If machines become conscious—or even just learn to convincingly mimic consciousness—how can we ensure that they will operate in alignment with human values? We are still grappling with how to ensure that human beings don’t use AI technology to subvert our collective moral code.
The Unreachable Depths of Human Consciousness
Despite AI’s rapid evolution, there are aspects of human experience that machines may never be able to grasp such as self-awareness, intuition, and the ability to derive meaning from the ineffable mysteries of existence. AI can process vast amounts of data in milliseconds, but it does not experience. As far as we know, it doesn’t dream, wonder, or wrestle with the complexities of existence.
Human consciousness is inexorably intertwined with the physical sensations of our varied emotions as well as our understanding of mortality and fear of death. Even the most advanced AI remains limited by programming that relies on logic; it has no way to access a subjective experience of life like the one that defines us as human.
Putting A Price On Human Imperfection
As AI moves toward a state of near-perfection—flawless decision-making, infinite knowledge retrieval, and seamless execution of complex tasks—where does that put human fallibility as a core characteristic of sentient life?
In a world where precision and perfection become the norm, human error may take on an entirely new meaning. Our flaws, emotional nuances, and unpredictable nature may become prized assets rather than weaknesses. Creativity, spontaneity, and even our relationship to suffering contribute to our uniqueness. The unpredictability of human thought, the ability to make intuitive leaps that defy logic, and the nuances of emotional experience could become unexpectedly valuable assets in an AI-driven world.
Imperfections in art, expression and even mathematical calculations could eventually stand out in a world of machine-made offerings, and become prized as proof of authenticity - things generated by imperfect human hands might eventually hold a lofty caché in a world of impeccable facsimile.
It has often been said that our flaws are what make us interesting, beautiful, or endearing. Imperfections can impart a value invisible to the subjective eye which evoke desire, admiration and even love in the eye of the beholder.
Perhaps, in the end, AI will free us from the tyranny of logic and perfection to develop and reevaluate the very things that make us most human.
As someone recently wrote on social media, “I want an AI that will do my dishes and laundry, so I can paint and play with my children - not the other way around!”
Hopefully, the more we learn about consciousness through the evolution of artificial intelligence, the more we’ll value the ineffable qualities of awareness that bring joy, meaning and connectedness to the experience of life.
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