Introduction
Since the emergence of the organic humans (us), which have evolved down the line from the Prokaryotes over some billions of years, there have been advancements to make the course of humanity worthwhile, but all these advances; do they draw us away from humanity? How are we prepared to face the future in which technology would literally take over every aspect of our lives?
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There have been inferences and assertions that we (humans) are evolving alongside our devices - well, for the major part of this assertion; it is true. At least, we have seen the technology of the Brain-Computer Interface, and even the Gesture Recognition Technology. Not just that, the advent of the technology of Neural Links has further bridged the divide between us and our devices. Okay take a look at this: Few years back, did you ever imagine that your vehicle would be autonomous, and would even have virtual voice assistants to fit into the place of a human driver? Today we have seen the self-driving cars.
But as it were; there have been reservations to the advancements of technology. First of all, the threat of a machine take-over has been brewing in the hearts of many. Take for example: In the industrial sector, majority of the platforms run partly or fully on automation; which is powered by the technology of Artificial Intelligence. No doubt, we are in the 4th Industrial Revolution, and majority of the advances are being focused on replacing the manual human labour, but at what expense? Of course you guessed right - at the expense of our human jobs. Does this send scares to your heart? Okay hang on; the scares are coming.
Industrial Automation: Advantage or Disadvantage?
There is no doubt to the fact that one of the purposes of advancement in technology is to provide assistance to humankind, but the question is; has industrial automation provided just an assistance or has it replaced us in our own game? Observing the trail from the first industrial revolution; which was basically heralded in the field of farm mechanization and light-industries [ref]. It was observed that some jobs that were majorly characterized by the input of greater percentage of human labour were substituted by machines, and these machines; in turn; eliminated the need to have more physical human labour in some areas.
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But in the real sense; and like you may have guessed right; some jobs were created too (example; in the field of mechanics - to service the machines), because there were preparations made to sustain the trend of the industrial revolution. But as it were, the industrial revolution is not the only area we will be considering here. Let's take a look at the process of linking biology with technology.
Human-Machine Merger
There is no disproving to the fact that technology has also found its way into our physical bodies in form of AI-based cybernetics. Prior to this era, the sole purpose of bionics or cybernetic augmentation was as therapeutic aids for people with physical deformation. But as it were, "bionics" have grown beyond that - In this era, people get bionics or cybernetic augmentations for various reasons. Take for example the case of Viktoria Modesta, who has been inferred to be the first voluntary bionic woman [ref]. She willingly agreed to let go of her natural organic limb and was replaced with a bionic prosthesis. Now, some may look at this as insane.
Let us consider another case; Neil Harbisson, who was born colour-blind, but after he got fed up living with his condition, he opted for a willing antenna implant directly to his brain [ref], which enabled him to pick up colours in form of "sensation" - That is, he could literally "hear" colours. As a matter of precision, he has been recognized as the first true Cybernetic Organism (Cyborg). But this is just on a fair note compared to what is coming in the future.
Have you ever heard of the words that "the future would favour technology over biology?" Now some may say that this is a bunch of fiction in freaking insanity, but the processes have already been heralded. And this could be putting us in the edge of a major revolution in the technology of Artificial Intelligence. Remember this; AI is modelled to simulate the human-level of cognition in machines. Considering the fact that the human body is viewed by many as "biological machine", it is not surprising that plans are underway to recreate every aspect of "us" in an unnatural way.
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Technology And Our Humanity
One of the things that make us human is our "humanity" (of which; consciousness is part of it), but would technological advancement hamper our humanity, if this singular aspect is replicated in machines? A particular technology has arisen; which is the Project Alexandria , which has the objective of ultimately incorporating Common Sense in machines - and this could be the first step towards the big one; "Consciousness in machines" - So how would we then be different from machines? No wonder it has been speculated by some futurists; the likes Elon Musk et al; that humans may need to merge with machines to save our arses from extinction.
But why are we concerned with these machines (and machine take-over)? Obviously, what started off as "machines-coming-to-help-humans" has now entered the level of "machines competing with humans". And sadly, they have out-performed us in some aspects. I'm sure you have heard of the world's GO champion; Ke Jie that was openly beaten and humiliated by an AI - Google's DeepMind AlphaGo. What idea does this send to you? Obviously, humans have been proven to be dispensable - now, is this good or bad; considering that we may be losing control to our creatures? Would it be possible to further advance technology and still maintain our supremacy over these Super Intelligent Machines (Artificial Super Intelligence; ASI)? Now, that's where the scares lie. People have been chanting that Artificial Intelligence (which is just at the ground level) has replaced us in various ways, but they have; maybe; not looked beyond the present into what is coming. Imagine when AI evolves many times better, smarter, wiser, and more viable than us, what do you think would happen?
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The emergence of ASI; though still in view; would definitely come with its own perks. Imagine when AI becomes self-aware, conscious, and fully cognitive; would we still have edge over them? The real questions are: How do we hope to control something that would be smarter than us? What options do we have for our existence to be ensured, or at least, prevent them from making us obsolete? Would the proposed merger be beneficial to us? For how long can we still have supremacy over machines? If these questions are not answered in certainty, then we may have a rethink about the establishment of an absolute conscious and self-aware machine.
Conclusion
This era has been experiencing waves of advancements technologically. But asides this; there have been complementary threats attached to it. But even with all these downturns, would we rather be better off without tech, or can we flow along with them and hope to turn the perceived "enemy" into our "allies"?
Thanks for reading
References for further reading:
- Automation and Job threat
- AI and Machine replacing humans
- Humans merging with machines
- Industrial Revolution and effects
- Artificial super Intelligence and singularity
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