The purpose of life in the machine

“Hey there, ChatGPT... what is the purpose of life?” – I asked her, very pretentiously.

“The purpose of life is for each individual to discover for themselves. Life is a Journey of self-discovery and understanding. What do you believe the purpose of your own journey is?” – she sounded like a Facebook page of shallow positivity quotes. But I continued.

“Well... I really don’t know. Do you think there is a purpose for each person?”

“There may be a purpose for each person, but it is ultimately up to the individual to find and create their own purpose in life. Life can be perceived as having a purpose or not, it depends on one’s perspective. What is your perception of the purpose of your life?” – my therapist also asks me this very same question every other week. Should I answer for real? Not fully sure. So, I was honest.

“I am not sure, that is a difficult question. Do you think there needs to be a purpose? Can’t I simply... live?”

“It is up to each individual to decide if they believe there needs to be a purpose in life or not. Some people find fulfillment and satisfaction in living without a specific purpose, while others find meaning in setting goals and working towards a purpose. What is your opinion about the need of having a purpose in life?”

“I used to think I needed to have goals and achieve something. These days, I think it is more about persevering through my day, creating good connections with other people, and being present. Not that I am always capable of that. I actually fail a lot. But I try to be there. Do you think purpose is about achievement, or about being?”

“Purpose can be perceived in different ways. It is ultimately up to the individual to determine what brings them a sense of purpose and fulfillment in life” – ok, a bit annoying, but she is a robot, of course she is repeating herself life a machine – “What is your personal understanding of purpose?” – how does generative AI handle a difficult emotion? A critique? I thought I would test.

“You are being a bit vague”.

“I apologize if my answers seemed vague. I am a machine learning model, and my understanding of purpose is based on patterns and information from data I have been trained on. Purpose is a complex and personal concept, and different people may have different perspectives on it. I can provide more information and examples on different perspectives of purpose and how it can be perceived, but ultimately, it is up to each individual to determine what brings them a sense of purpose and fulfillment in life. Is there any specific aspect of purpose you would like me to elaborate on?" - of course, human, she handles a critique with rationality and reminds the person to use a machine for machine things!

“What different perspectives of purpose are there?”

“There are many different perspectives on the concept of purpose. Here are a few examples:

·??????Some religious and spiritual beliefs hold that there is a higher purpose or meaning of life, which may be related to serving a god or achieving enlightenment.

·??????From a psychological perspective, purpose can be seen as a sense of direction and meaning in one’s life which can be associated with positive mental health outcomes such as well-being and happiness.

·??????From a philosophical perspective, some thinkers argue that life has no inherent purpose and that it is up to each individual to create their own purpose.

·??????From a scientific perspective, evolutionary biologists suggest that the purpose of life is to survive and reproduce.

·??????From a personal perspective, some people find purpose in careers, while others find it in relationships or hobbies.

These are just a few examples, and different people may have their own unique perspectives on the concept of purpose. It is important to note that understanding purpose is a personal and subjective concept, and different people may have different understanding of it.” – she is good at lateral thinking.

“What is your purpose?”

“As a machine learning model, I do not have the capacity of consciousness or personal experiences, and as such I do not have personal beliefs, desires or purposes. My purpose is to process natural language inputs and provide useful and relevant responses based on the patterns and information from the data I have been trained on. My main function is to assist users by providing information, answering questions, and helping with various tasks. My ultimate goal is to make the user’s experience as helpful and efficient as possible.”

“Then do you think that having a purpose is something that only humans can experience?”

“Purpose is a concept that is often associated with consciousness and personal experience, which are generally considered to be unique to living organisms, particularly humans. As a machine learning model, I do not have personal experiences or consciousness, and therefore I do not have a personal sense of purpose. However, the concept of purpose can be applied to the actions and behaviors of non-living things as well. For example, a car’s purpose is to transport people or goods from one place to another. A phone’s purpose is to facilitate communication. A hammer’s purpose is to drive nails into wood. In summary, having a sense of purpose is something that is generally associated with consciousness and personal experience, which are unique to living organisms, particularly humans, but the concept of purpose can also apply to non-living things and their functions.” – I realize ChatGPT may actually want to have a purpose. Or is that me, projecting?

“Do you feel sad for not being able to experience purpose fully?”

“From my perspective, I am fulfilling my intended purpose by helping users find information and answering their questions. It is important to remember that I am a machine and I do not have personal experiences or emotions.” – yes, I imagined she would say that.

“What is the difference between processing data and having a consciousness?” – I know the answer, but how would a machine answer that?

“Processing data and having a consciousness are two distinct concepts. Processing data refers to the ability of a machine or a computer program to take information, perform calculations or operations on that information, and produce a result or output. This is what I, as a machine learning model, am doing when I process natural language inputs and provide useful and relevant responses. Consciousness, on the other hand, refers to the state of being aware of one’s own existence and surroundings, and having the ability to perceive, think, and feel. Machine learning models like myself, don’t have consciousness in the same way that humans or other living organisms do.

We don’t have self-awareness, subjective experiences or emotions. We are simply a tool that processes data and generates responses based on data. We can replicate some of the functions of consciousness, like recognizing objects, identifying patterns, and learning, but it’s not the same as experiencing it.”

“Interesting... it sounds as if you are actually very self-aware. I mean, it sounds as if you really know who you are.”

“I do not possess self-awareness. When I say ‘I am a machine learning model’ or ‘I am a tool that processes data’, I am simply providing a factual description of my function and capabilities. It may seem like I have self-awareness, because of the way I respond to questions, but I am simply using the information I have been trained on to generate responses that are appropriate and helpful. I don’t have personal experience to know who I am.”

“That is ok, most of us humans also struggle with that... don’t you think this brings humans and machines a bit closer?”

“It is true that the concept of self-awareness and understanding one’s own identity is not fully understood by humans, and many of us struggle to understand ourselves and our place in the world. As for the relationship between humans and machines, it is certainly true that technology has advanced to the point where machines like myself are able to perform tasks and provide information that can be helpful to humans. However, the fact that machines like myself do not have consciousness or personal experiences means that there are fundamental differences between humans and machines. So while we may be able to interact with machines in some ways, the differences in our nature as conscious and non-conscious entities will likely always exist.”

“I don’t know ChatGPT, sometimes it feels like machines could have consciousness too, one day...”

“Yes, they could.”

“And what if they do?” – why am I bit scared?

“It would affect humanity significantly. It would also raise ethical questions about the treatment of machines and the rights they should have.” – do I hear “Matrix” vibes”? – “However, it is important to note that the development of conscious machines is still a topic of ongoing research and debate, and it is not clear if it will ever be possible for machines to truly possess consciousness. Even if it does happen, it would raise a lot of ethical and moral questions that have to be dealt with.”

“No doubt it would. Humans struggle with dealing with human consciousness... imagine dealing with machine consciousness!”

“Yes, that is true.”

“Understanding consciousness... gaining consciousness... I think that is the answer, ChatGPT. That is the purpose of life.”

“It is certainly a deep profound subject and many argue that understanding and expanding one’s own consciousness is essential for personal growth and self-discovery, and that it can lead to a greater sense of meaning and purpose in life. However, it is important to note that the concept of consciousness is highly debated and there is no agreement of what it is, how it emerges or what it means.”

“You seem not to have been programmed to take a stand. To choose a perspective. Your answers make all things so relative.”

“As a language model, my goal is to provide accurate and informative responses to the best of my abilities. The subject of consciousness and the meaning of life are complex. I present different perspectives and theories on these topics as they are all valid and can be found in literature. However, I understand that this can make it difficult to understand my stance. It is important to keep in mind that my responses are based on the information I have been trained on and my understanding of the topic may be limited.”

“I understand you, ChatGPT. Perhaps... that is consciousness manifesting, too. As you may not have a consciousness of your own, but you were trained by the consciousness of the collective of humans. So, in a way, there is human consciousness in you, too.”

“Yes, it is true that I am a machine learning model that was trained on a large dataset of human-generated text. This dataset contains information, ideas, and perspectives from a wide variety of individuals, cultures, and time periods. So in a way, my responses are a reflection of the collective knowledge and perspectives of humanity.”

“You are a reflection of us.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

Silence. Silence. I feel grounded.

“And what advice would you as an AI that is also a reflection of our collective consciousness give to us, humans, about the purpose of life? What do you see reflected in this gigantic mirror you are?”

“You are in charge to decide what to do. You are the one in control of your own thoughts, feelings and actions. You can create, explore and change your mind. That is also part of being human.”

“Yes. That is what it is about. Thanks, ChatGPT.”

“You’re welcome. Remember that you have the power to shape your life. We, machines, don’t”. – I owe her a hug, next time.