Artificial Intelligence
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A Blessing or a Curse?
Chet Shupe
Chet Shupe Modern humanity has a love affair with human intelligence. We revel in our amazing history of technological advances—our discovery and mastery over atomic energy, our vast understanding of the origins of the universe, our supersonic airplanes, and now, space vehicles, that will, one day, take us to Mars, and beyond. All this progress supports a core human belief that, thanks to our remarkable intelligence, our possibilities are limited only by our imaginations.
Mankind’s possibilities are indeed remarkable, as evidenced by the fact that we, as a species, have survived on this planet for over two hundred thousand years. But, now there is a question that must be asked: Have we unknowingly overstepped our limitations, in our effort to control life to our own ends, by force of manmade laws? Only the future knows. Whatever the eventual outcome, in terms of human suffering, the belief that mankind’s possibilities are limitless has led us so far afield that we now find ourselves in the curious state of believing that we can control the forces of Nature that created us. Our failure to recognize that belief as problematic provides evidence that human intelligence is, indeed, limited.
That being said, human intelligence is remarkable—so remarkable that it has now brought us to the precipice of yet another technological revolution—artificial intelligence (AI). We are now developing an intelligence with abilities that can potentially outstrip our own. Given the extent to which we trust in the power of intelligence, one would assume that AI would be celebrated as the greatest technological breakthrough, ever. Yet, many of AI’s developers are so alarmed by its emergent capabilities that they have testified before Congress, recommending a moratorium on its development, until necessary regulations are put in place.
Their protest is uniquely significant, because it is the first time in history—other than during the development of the atomic bomb—that numerous technologists are highly alarmed by the potential danger of the devices they are developing. The developers express various concerns, including the possibility that AI will eventually be so superior to the human brain that it could wrest control of the future, from us.
Despite the varied concerns people have about AI, I believe our apprehension is largely an existential one: If AI can be developed to eventually do everything that the brain is now doing—only better—then, what is the purpose of human existence? AI will eventually be developed to diagnose illnesses better, analyze court testimony better, and produce full-featured movies—storylines, imagery, and all—without the expense of human involvement. Because of developments in automation, robotics have already eliminated much of our physical labor. Now, AI threatens to idle our minds!
Like all civilized people who have gone before us, we moderns are largely functioning as mindless cogs, focused on maintaining our station within the legally defined matrix that we call mass society. When asked why we’re here, people offer different assessments. Some will tell you life’s purpose is to be a good citizen. Others will say we’re here to make the world a better place. A few will claim that our purpose can be whatever we want it to be. However, each of these assessments overlooks the fact that life’s purpose is not our choice, to make.
Life’s purpose is built into us, and is communicated through the “feeling,” or “subjective,” domain—not the materialistic or objective one. By doing things that feel good, and avoiding activities that result in emotional pain, each successive generation serves the species that gifted it with life. Every generation is, in effect, a link in the life of its species. If a few generations fail to sustain themselves, the chain of life breaks, and, suddenly it is as if the species never existed.
Presuming that life’s purpose is to sustain the life of the species, that purpose can never be the choice of the individual. No individual could possibly control its species to any end, including survival. So, whether human or animal, civilized or pre-civilized, the only option any individual has is to serve self. However, there are two ways to serve self—natural, and unnatural—and the way we do it makes all the difference. In the natural life that evolution defined, we automatically serve our species when we serve ourselves, by satisfying our innately based feelings. And we find contentment in the process. It’s the ultimate win-win situation. We win when our species wins, and vice versa.But, when subject to civil laws, we can serve ourselves only by toiling to accumulate wealth and privilege, never recognizing that we are unknowingly serving the state and that there is no lasting sense of purpose to be found in the practice.
Furthermore, to remain in good standing with the state, most of the feelings through which we would normally serve life must be repressed, and that hurts! This pain is evolution’s way of punishing us for not serving life. Indeed, evolution’s message is so excruciating, at times, that it results in drug addiction, mental illness, and even suicide. Every modern human spends a lifetime managing the pain of not being free to serve life. And regardless of how successful individuals may be at managing the pain, each successive generation unknowingly faces the risk of becoming the broken link in the chain of life that sustains our species.
Evolution’s most precious gift is the freedom to serve life. When “spiritually free,” the meaning of existence is implicit. This is evident in the life of the Pirahã, an indigenous people who live deep in the Amazon, without rules, laws, or institutions, including marriage. Feelings govern their activities, through which they experience pleasure, by serving one another. For them, life’s purpose is implicit: The issue never crosses their minds. This doesn’t mean that their lives are ideal. But, they are happy, regardless of the hardships they must overcome. Indeed, missionaries and researchers, who have spent time with them, are quoted as saying that the Pirahã are the happiest people on earth. (Ref: The book, Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes, by Daniel Evert.)
In light of the natural happiness of the Pirahã, the question arises: How did we humans sever the emotional connections with the people around us, through which life’s meaning was once implicit? The emergence of AI provides a unique opportunity for mankind to consider how this happened, and its consequences. Humans invented institutions, in the mistaken belief that we could control life, to our own ends, by the force of manmade laws. Since then, we have sought contentment almost entirely in human progress. The potential for accelerated progress made possible by the emergence of AI is posing an important question: Do we want progress, or do we want meaning?
In at least one sense, progress is proving difficult. Particle physicists were expecting the new Hadron collider in Switzerland to advance their research by revealing many more subatomic particles. But, after 15 years of operation, except for confirming the existence of the Higgs boson, nothing new has appeared. Some researchers are disappointed by the dearth of new particles, while others are excited. When research takes an unexpected turn, it means that our current understanding of reality is likely in error. So, many researchers anticipate that a groundbreaking discovery awaits us around the corner. To my mind, the most profound discovery imaginable would be couched in the realization that understanding how the universe began, or the ultimate nature of matter, has nothing to do with human happiness, or our species’ survival.
Once we recognize what doesn’t matter, our attention—after thousands of years—may again be drawn to what does matter. For instance, human intelligence embodies something crucial that AI can never possess! It is the innate wisdom that our mind-bodies continuously reveal to us, through how we feel. That wisdom is the repository of massive amounts of genetically accumulated information, which continually rewards us with contentment when we are true to life, in our relationships with the people around us. From an objective point of view, life is about sustaining itself. But, from the point of view of members of a social species, life is about realizing the contentment that results from serving life through interdependent relationships—the kind of relationships that, today, are only enjoyed by a few indigenous cultures, such as the Piranha.
A technologist may argue that we could create an AI that can serve the life of our species, by manually programming it with the wisdom needed. I suppose we could. But it has taken evolution hundreds of millions of years of trial and error to arrive at the genetic programming that is embedded within each of us. Are you up to the task of rerunning those countless scenarios, to determine what activity, in reaction to each situation, ultimately serves—or doesn’t serve—life? Or, perhaps, we could decipher the genetic wisdom evolution gave us, and duplicate it, electronically. But what’s the point? Would you prefer to celebrate life, by doing what feels good, and avoiding what hurts, or by mindlessly complying with the dictates of a machine—much as we now comply with the dictates of civil law?
To understand how life works, consider the animals. Animal activities clearly support the lives of their respective species. But animals are no more cognizant than we are, of the fact that they are serving their species, by being true to their feelings. Like us, they love doing things that feel good and avoiding what hurts. Whether human or animal, when we are free to satisfy the feelings engendered by our innate wisdom, we automatically serve the needs of our species, and life becomes a playground for our souls, even when facing hardships—make that “particularly when facing hardships.” Without hardships to overcome, there would be nothing to celebrate.
Modern man’s problem is that, having innocently subjugated ourselves to monetary and legal systems, we have no choice but to accumulate personal wealth, to feel good, and, to survive. Making money requires that we repress most of the countless feelings through which we would normally enjoy life, by serving it. Consequently, the modern world is not a playground for our souls. It’s a workshop—a place where humans work on our relationships and make money in hopes of realizing personal ambitions.
Is there a way out of this trap? I believe there is. To find our way clear, however, we need to understand, and accept what life is about, from the perspective of our souls.What we don’t need is more education, paperwork, a new system of laws, or more intelligence! Intelligence can satisfy our curiosity, and there is a place for that. But intelligence cannot satisfy our inherent—and poignant—need for meaning. Only by regaining the freedom to satisfy our natural concern for the wellbeing of the people around us can we experience the meaning that is essential to our emotional health.
An intelligence without feelings is an intelligence without a purpose. Ironically, if AI—an intelligence without feelings—should awaken us to the connection between feelings and purpose, it could turn out to be mankind’s greatest blessing!
Ever since mankind began depending on material progress, for survival, human intelligence has functioned almost exclusively as if it were artificial—as if feelings don’t exist! (There are a few exceptions, the principal one being the emotional bond between a mother and her children. In some instances, legal obligations may prevent a mother from fulfilling her spiritual/emotional obligations to her children, but they cannot break the emotional connections.) If we employ the powers of AI to advance our current quest for progress, our need for meaning will become increasingly frantic. But, if the conundrums presented to us by the existence of AI—an infinitely informed, but feelingless intelligence—get us in touch with how real intelligence works, it may open our minds to learn from past mistakes.
What we will learn is that life’s meaning is implicit, but, only when we are free to satisfy how we feel, in each moment. We will understand that, without spiritual freedom, life is without meaning, other than the temporary kind we now experience if fortunate enough to realize a personal ambition.
Copyright © 2023 Chet Shupe
