Redefining Our Humanity in the Era of Artificial Intelligence
By Rooz Aliabadi, Ph.D.
The era of artificial intelligence (AI) — a long-predicted and fervently — awaited technological era has finally dawned upon us. Its advent materialized much in the same way Ernest Hemingway articulated the bankruptcy progression in his classic novel, The Sun Also Rises, a subtle, gradual shift that escalated with suddenness. Suppose we reflect on the brief period since OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT in late 2022. In that case, it’s clear to see an infinite array of ways to engage in discussions regarding the transformative power of AI. It can potentially revolutionize every facet of human life, from job markets to artistic endeavors, educational systems to business presentations, and even influence the quality of bad dad jokes. The myriad ways AI stands to redefine our world appear virtually limitless.
Yet, amid this vigorous debate, one particular potentiality for AI remains relatively unexplored — of essential value. This is the profound question of how we can leverage AI not merely as a tool for performing human tasks but as a catalyst for reconnecting with our quintessential humanity. This question derives from the understanding that, despite the scope and nature of regulations enacted upon it, AI ultimately serves as an instrument whose repercussions are dictated by how humanity employs it.
Writing for The New York Times, Thomas Friedman called this our “Promethean moment,” a reference to the Greek myth of Prometheus, the Titan who dared to steal fire from the gods and bestow it upon humankind. Echoing this sentiment, Google CEO Sundar Pichai made a similar assertion in 2018, declaring, “AI is probably the most important thing humanity has ever worked on. I think of it as something more profound than electricity or fire.” AI is a tool like fire and other transformative inventions like smartphones and the internet. They have propelled humanity to flourish and make monumental strides forward, yet if used without prudence, they can equally possess the power to consume us.
The greater our ability to use this Promethean moment to cultivate a collective of individuals who operate in good faith, empathy, care, and connection, the more probable it becomes that humanity will harness AI to its advantage and thrive. Undoubtedly, the pace of AI’s evolution has accelerated to an almost unfathomable extent — I wouldn’t be surprised if some new development has emerged, even as I pen this down. At the heart of this rapid progress, among swirling questions, ethical dilemmas, and apocalyptic predictions, there exists a recognition that we are embarking on a new epoch.
As author Bruce Feiler notes in his book Life Is in the Transitions, disruption, and transition often present unique opportunities for deep insights and wisdom. He writes: “Most major religions include the idea that significant human breakthroughs include periods of disconnection and disorientation.” Such periods are characterized by a shedding of the non-essential and reaffirming the essential. This is the phase we currently find ourselves in. This pivotal stage gives me optimism, fuelling my belief that we stand at the cusp of a period of profound transformation and renewal.
Present discussions about AI often lean towards the futuristic, evoking a sense of science fiction. But AI also harbors the capacity to connect us with a deeper, often overlooked aspect of ourselves. Last year, during a podcast interview, Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, asked OpenAI CEO Sam Altman which facets of our life would remain untouched by AI. Altman responded, “All of the deep biological things,” asserting that human interaction and connections, the very things that our ancestors cherished 50,000 years ago, are likely to remain central to our existence even a century from now.
The Enlightenment period we have ushered in an era of remarkable scientific discovery, yielding incredible strides in understanding the universe and our world. It was a time when we championed reason and knowledge, believing we could decipher everything or at least reduce all phenomena to reason and process. The subsequent Industrial Revolution enabled us to scale and apply this knowledge. Yet, the material success and worldly accomplishments facilitated by these discoveries fostered an illusion that life was solely defined by two metrics: wealth and power. In our pursuit of these, we lost sight of the third metric, comprised of the elements that constitute our humanity: our well-being, wisdom, sense of wonder, and capacity for compassion and generosity.
This is where AI’s potential shines, forming a central part of its promise. By taking on numerous mundane tasks that have absorbed our time and attention for years, decades, or even millennia, AI can help bring our essential humanity into sharper focus. With AI clearing much of the ‘noise,’ the signal of our true selves could become more evident.
During the Apollo 8 mission, astronaut William Anders was among the first three humans to orbit the moon and, consequently, one of the first to witness an “earthrise.” He said, “We came all this way to explore the moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.” A similar revelation could occur with AI. As we invest tremendous effort into enabling machines to mimic humans, we might uncover what it truly means to be human.
Our measure of how closely machines can imitate humans is gauged by the Turing test, named after its proposer, the esteemed British mathematician Alan Turing. However, we might be failing this test by narrowly defining humanity, not considering the timeless aspects of our nature and our innate need to connect with something larger than ourselves.
Unfortunately, the journey towards making machines more human-like has, thus far, been coupled with a trend towards humans becoming more like machines. In his book AI Superpowers, Kai-Fu Lee writes about how he’d been living according to the same operating principles as the technology he was developing. “I came to view my life as an optimization algorithm,” Lee writes. But a life led as an algorithm, he confesses, was “robbing me of my humanity.”
If we allow machines to care for algorithms and optimization, we can liberate ourselves to more wholly embrace what makes us uniquely human. Lisa Miller explains in her book, The Awakened Brain, our drive for spirituality has a neurological basis. We have “a natural inclination toward and a docking station for spiritual awareness.” However, she says, “We have to choose to engage it. It’s a muscle we can learn to strengthen or let atrophy.”
In the realm of AI, a significant concern is the so-called “alignment problem”: the challenge of encoding AI systems so that they align with human values and do not inadvertently cause harm. But can we employ AI to broaden our understanding of what we consider to be human values?
Consider this: AI rapidly advances in diagnosing physical health and providing real-time data. If we extend its capabilities to encompass all aspects of our well-being, including spiritual health, AI could guide us toward more holistic health and resilience. It could provide nudges about nutrition, sleep, physical activity, stress management, and human connections. It could also offer personalized recommendations on spiritual texts, poetry, and quotes that help us reset and connect with our inner reservoir of peace, wisdom, and strength. AI is adept at handling data, so why not employ it to impart knowledge?
As Reid Hoffman, who has played a pivotal role in the development of AI, told The New York Times, one objective of AI should be “elevating humanity.” Part of this vision, Hoffman explained, involves using AI to enhance our lives by “giving everyone a medical assistant” and “giving everyone a tutor.” It could even give everyone a spiritual guide!
Whether we believe in God, a higher power, or a benevolent universe, it’s indisputable that we are all more likely to flourish when we disconnect from worldly distractions and respond to our innate need to connect with something larger than ourselves. This is a fundamental part of the human experience, and AI has the potential to be a powerful tool in augmenting and deepening this aspect of our humanity. Hoffman stated, “We can make these new things and journey with them.” If we choose to do so, we can make this journey a more authentically human experience. As the renowned scholar Joseph Campbell described the hero’s journey — the one we’re all on: “Where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the center of our existence.”
ReadyAI — GenerativeAI-Chat GPT Lesson Plan and others are available FREE to all educators at edu.readyai.org
This article was written by Rooz Aliabadi (rooz@readyai.org). Rooz is the CEO (Chief Troublemaker) at ReadyAI.org
To learn more about ReadyAI, visit www.readyai.org or email us at info@readyai.org.
