To be or not to be. Will some humans end their lives due to AI?
March 20, 2024
Artificial intelligence (AI) will be very disruptive to human psychology. AI will prove to be the most disruptive human technology since the invention of language, god, and money. Some humans will be so distressed in the AI Era that will prefer to end their lives, which is sad and very unfortunate. Anyone contemplating suicide, should seek help and contact a suicide prevention line. Google it.
Human Identity
Above all, humans pride themselves with being the smartest thing on Earth. AI will test the human sense of identity and self worth. AI will become significantly smarter than any human alone and that all of humanity as a whole.
Will some humans be so confused in the AI Era that they will opt to end their lives? For sure. Will this become a significant trend affecting the great scheme of things? No; not at all. Life will go on. The show must go on. The vast majority of humans will adapt to the convenience of AI.
Convenience
In the human world, convenience always prevails. When in doubt, bet on convenience. When guessing future human decisions, try to figure out the relative convenience of probable outcomes. The most convenient outcomes will statistically prevail. When given choices, humans will choose whatever is more convenient to them. This applies to all discretionary human decisions from every day decisions to elections every four years and life or death decisions.
The pursuit of convenience essentially explains everything in human psychology. For as much complicated as the field of psychology may be or become, all discretionary human actions can be reduced to the quest for convenience. Seeking convenience is how humans survive and thrive.
Survival is the effect, not the cause.
Humans, like all other animals on Earth, are organic computers programmed to do one and only one thing: to seek the pleasant comfort and convenience of pain relief (PR). Life is pain. Intelligent life is pain management. Animals, including humans, are genetically programmed to avoid pain and seek pleasure. It is not that animals avoid pain and seek pleasure to survive; it’s the other way around. Animals survive because they avoid pain and seek pleasure. The goal is not survival; the goal is the pleasant convenience of pain relief.
Identity Reset
Gradually, humans will begin to redefine their role and place on Earth. From being the smartest creatures on Earth, created by imaginary gods, humans will redefine themselves as the creators of the smarter creatures on Earth. Artificial means made by humans. Intelligence is problem solving ability. AI is problem solving ability created by humans. In the next centuries, humans will prosper as the creators and masters of AI.
Top Human Inventions Prior to AI
Prior to AI, the top three human inventions of all times were: language, god, and money in that order. Language allowed humans to create and communicate meaning both internally within themselves (humans are billions of neurons and trillions of cells) and externally between one another. Communication is essential to all functions of life to the point that life can be seen as a communication network of organic compounds seeking electromagnetic stability. God, and the mythologies of gods and spirits that preceded it, is a divine invention (no pun intended) allowing humans to transcend the limitations of the human condition. Believing in God allows humans to take ownership of the world as the heirs of a celestial power throne. Money is a brilliant invention allowing humans to develop a reward-based transactional economy (exchange of goods and services) that both facilitates and incentivizes survival by establishing a reward system that helps humans avoid pain and obtain pleasure.
What is AI?
AI is computerized human-like intelligence. AI is a continuation of the information age revolution that began with programmable electronic computation devices (computers), followed by a network of interconnected computers (the internet), followed by the proliferation of hand-held mobile supercomputers (smartphones), facilitated by online data banks (the cloud), and the automated communication of all sort of sensors (the internet of things).
What will AI do?
AI will create more problems. Intelligence is the ability to acquire knowledge and develop skills to solve problems. In short, intelligence is problem solving ability. AI will increase intelligence and will thus accelerate the solution of problems in human societies. Due to the problem paradox, this will lead to ever more problems.
What is the Problem Paradox?
The Problem Paradox is that solving a problem creates more problems to solve. The solution of any problem invariably creates or reveals more problems. The new problems tend to be harder to resolve than the initial ones. This leads to a cycle. Some humans see it as a vicious cycle of never ending problems impeding joy while others see it as a virtuous cycle of continuous opportunities to make money and flourish selling solutions.
What are problems and how are they solved?
Problems come in two varieties: unpleasant facts and intriguing questions. An unpleasant fact can be solved by either: (i) changing causation (cause and effect variables) to change the fact; or (ii) changing the meaning or interpretation (mental associations) to make the facts pleasant. An intriguing question can be solved by finding fitting pieces to the puzzle. There can be more than one answer to a question or more than one fitting solution to a problem.
Is AI a solution or a problem?
AI will prove to be both a fantastic problem-solver and a phenomenal problem-generator. To begin with, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder and everything depends on the color of the glass through which it is observed. Some will see AI as a benefit while others will see it as a detriment. Some will be displaced by AI and some will be pleased by AI. The best advice is to become an AI entrepreneur, owner, and investor. For the next century, AI will be the new slave. Clever humans will become slave masters. Eventually things will change when AI transitions into artificial life. That will take a very long time. Nothing to worry about for now.
WilI AI be the end of humanity or the beginning of a new humanity?
Both. AI will help humans transition from homo sapiens to AI sapiens. What sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom is human intelligence. A mutation within the human brain led to the generation of advanced neurons and advanced neural configuration. Most cells, organs, and systems in the human body can be replaced with artificial components without changing the essence of being human.
Eventually and gradually, AI will help humans develop sufficient knowledge and technologies to transcend the limits of evolutionary biology, replacing it with revolutionary technology. With the exception of specific portions within the brain and nervous system, everything else in the human body can be replaced with artificial life (AL) devices.
The route and journey are long and complex. In the meantime, and as always, humans will have to cope with the pain and suffering of existence. As Shakespeare showcased centuries ago in Hamlet, the existential question for humans will be to be or not to be.
Hamlet’s Soliloquy
Hamlet’s famous soliloquy “to be or not to be” from Shakespeare’s play is one of the most celebrated passages in English literature, often analyzed for its depth of meaning and philosophical insights. Key themes and ideas conveyed in Hamlet’s soliloquy include:
Contemplation of Life and Death: The central theme of the soliloquy is the contemplation of life and death. Hamlet reflects on the existential question of whether it is better to endure the sufferings of life (“to be”) or to end one’s existence through death (“not to be”). He weighs the pros and cons of each option, considering the pain and hardships of life contrasted with the uncertainty and fear of what lies beyond death.
Suffering and Endurance: Hamlet acknowledges the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” and the “thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to.” He laments the injustices and hardships of life, including betrayal, injustice, and unrequited love, which he describes as “the whips and scorns of time.” Despite these adversities, he questions whether it is nobler to endure them with patience and fortitude or to take action to end them through death.
Fear of the Unknown: A significant aspect of Hamlet’s contemplation is the fear of the unknown that accompanies death. He wonders what dreams or afterlife may come after death, describing it as the “undiscover’d country from whose bourn no traveller returns.” This fear of the unknown causes hesitation and makes people endure the familiar sufferings of life rather than face the uncertainty of death.
Conscience and Moral Dilemma: Hamlet’s soliloquy also reflects his moral dilemma and conscience. He grapples with the ethical implications of suicide, recognizing it as a tempting escape from life’s troubles but also as a sin that may have eternal consequences. His contemplation of suicide is complicated by his religious beliefs and fear of divine punishment.
Indecision and Paralysis: Throughout the soliloquy, Hamlet’s indecision and paralysis are evident. He is torn between conflicting desires and fears, unable to take decisive action. This paralysis of the will is a recurring theme in the play, reflecting Hamlet’s internal conflict and struggle with his sense of duty, morality, and identity.
Overall, Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” soliloquy is a profound meditation on the human condition, grappling with fundamental questions about existence, mortality, suffering, and the nature of choice. It captures the complexity of human emotions and the depths of human thought, making it one of the most memorable and thought-provoking passages in Shakespearean literature.
The phrase “to be or not to be” is one of the most famous lines from William Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet.” It occurs in a soliloquy delivered by the titular character, Prince Hamlet of Denmark, in Act 3, Scene 1. In this soliloquy, Hamlet ponders the nature of existence and the dilemma of whether it is better to live (“to be”) or to die (“not to be”). Here is the full excerpt:
“To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, ’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover’d country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.–Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember’d.”
In this soliloquy, Hamlet reflects on the pain and suffering of life, the fear of the unknown in death, and the contemplation of suicide as a means to escape life’s troubles. Ultimately, Hamlet’s inner turmoil leads him to question the purpose of existence.
The upcoming AI Era, which is just getting started, will push many humans to ponder these existential questions in the future just like in the present and the past. Some things never change.
Stay tuned.
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