Is “I think therefore I am” getting obsolete?

Last few days, I got the time to ponder on a rather esoteric philosophical question — Does the rapid acceleration in biotechnology and AI transform human society in ways where the whole notion of “I think therefore I am” is rendered obsolete?

The “I think therefore I am” philosophy, famously articulated by René Descartes, has been a cornerstone of Western philosophy for centuries. It suggests that our consciousness and ability to think independently of our physical body are what define our existence. However, if our decisions are simply the result of biochemical reactions and the inputs to these reactions can be intercepted and influenced by technology, it challenges this notion of existence. It raises the possibility that we are not truly independent agents with free will, but rather the products of our biology and environment.

Over the past few decades, we have made significant strides in understanding how human decision-making works. Rather than being a mysterious and unknowable process, decision-making is now seen as a complex set of biochemical reactions that can be influenced by a thread of inputs. This new understanding of decision-making has given rise to new biotechnologies that can intercept these inputs at any stage and potentially influence our decisions. Now add artificial intelligence to this mix making predictions and influencing human behavior based on patterns in data and biotech signals. At its simplest, think about the hrs of ticktock scrolls or the dopamine rush of “likes”. Does this raise the question of whether humans now really have the free will to make decisions independently?

While the idea of free will has long been debated our new understanding of decision-making and the power of biotechnology and AI should bring this debate to the forefront. If our decisions are simply the result of biochemical reactions that can be influenced by outside factors, do we truly have free will? If our decisions can be predicted or even manipulated by AI, do we have any control over our own lives? These are difficult and complex questions that challenge our fundamental beliefs about who we are and what it means to be human.

Of course, I am not the first one thinking about this and these ideas are not without controversy. However, it is clear that these new understandings of decision-making and the power of technology to influence our lives will continue to challenge our fundamental beliefs about who we are and what it means to be human. Ultimately, it is up to us to grapple with these challenges and determine the best way to move forward in a world where technology is completely intertwined with our lives.