The quest to become a Homo Deus
“The genie is out of the bottle. We need to move forward on artificial intelligence
development but we also need to be mindful of its very real dangers. I fear that AI
may replace humans altogether. If people design computer viruses, someone will
design AI that replicates itself. This will be a new form of life that will
outperform humans”. ~ Prof. Stephen William Hawking (Interview with Wired, November
2017)
I was very eager to write about artificial intelligence for a long time.
There’s a hype about this subject in the western ambience. People are doing several ground-breaking researches in this field and every day a new innovation is
system is termed as “autonomous”. In other terms or maybe a simpler term, it means “by itself”. No matter how powerful AI may or may not become in the future (that’s
exactly not what this blog is about, I am not a prophet!), let’s shed some light on
why AI can never be greater than humans. Greater in terms of understanding, conscious
thinking & intelligence, decision ability, emotions, etc. Keep in mind that I’ve
written this blog with reference to human and machine interactions, what we term in
today’s world as Siri, Cortana, human robot (SOPHIA, 2016), Matt McMullen’ love
dolls at Realbotix, etc.
What exactly is the root?
“We humans are blobs of organized mud, which through the impersonal workings of nature’s pattern have developed the capacity to contemplate and cherish and engage with the intimidating complexity of the world around us. The meaning we find in life is not transcendent”. ~ Sean M. Carroll (Physicist, specializing in Quantum Mechanics, gravity and cosmology, CALTECH)
I was watching a 2-hour lecture given by Prof. John Lennox (Emeritus Fellow in
Mathematics and Philosophy of Science, Oxford University) on “Should we fear
Artificial Intelligence”? He described the two quintessential agendas of 21st
the
My Thought
This has been a very common problem in the past. A problem that finds its grounding when humans are curiously wanting to place themselves at the seat of God. In simpler terms defining good and evil by themselves (Refer Genesis 3, you shall be as God, knowing good and evil, paraphrased). This may seem all new because it has a touch of scientism and technicality in it. The craving to know everything and achieve everything is what leads to this quest of living a life as Homo Deus.
AI and humans are different
“It seems to me that a lot of needless debate could be avoided if AI
Emotions and Feelings | My Thought
We can have zero confidence that the dominant intelligence a few centuries
Conscious thinking and intelligence | My Thought
“But here is what we are not born with: information, data, rules, software, knowledge, lexicons, representations, algorithms, programs, models, memories, images, processors, subroutines, encoders, decoders, symbols or buffers –
Roger Epstein has pretty much summed up the understanding between a human and a computer. Think like this. If I’m witnessing a predicament that I never ever witnessed before (completely blank, not even knowing what it means), would I be able to take the right decision or any decision? Now the answer for this question can be, yes I can take it, doesn’t matter if it’s right or wrong. But, that’s not the case with a robot. In order to take certain decision, a robot has to be programmed, in order to take certain decision or do a certain task. He cannot perform a task as we humans perform. This is what we call as “cognitive consciousness” and “awareness”. Robots can be intelligent (more than humans) but they are not conscious. AI separates intelligence and consciousness but remember that God links them.
Final Thought
“We have paid some high prices for the technological conquest of nature, but
life is all about) to a robot. Well, only God wins in the end. A God who was and is big enough to create humans in His image (Read Genesis 1:26-28). That’s exactly where life of conscious thinking and intelligence began. That’s exactly where search for a new Homo Deus is worthless. “Super creation already exists. God is primary, universe is derivative, Creation by speech act, “and God said”. God speaking from an open system and not a closed natural framework”. ~ John Lennox(Emeritus Fellow in Mathematics and Philosophy of Science, Oxford University).
I’m pursuing doctoral degree from North Dakota State University (NDSU) at the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABEN) under Dr. J. Paulo Flores, who’s a precision agriculture specialist at the department. Prior to this, I did my Masters (Research) in 2019 from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, where I worked with Prof. B. S. Das, Soil Physics Laboratory, Agricultural and Food Engineering (AgFE) department. As of now, my area of interest includes image processing (UAV imagery) using deep learning tools. Besides, I love to stretch my knowledge and skills on agricultural robotics and automation.