What do you like so much about AI?

I published this little write up @Sigle last March, but since people asked me about it, I will post it here for a bigger audience... ( I do hope it drives traffic to Sigle though since it's an amazing platform) https://app.sigle.io/niek_nik.id.blockstack/pregLZHoQ4SfInd97fSVb

And I was reminded of this text @ the talk on Sonar+D 2019 about the Voice of AI, when Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst drew parallels with parenting ...

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Someone asked me this week, what do you like so much about AI? It took me a moment to think what was the real reason, beyond technology, beyond innovation, beyond robots, beyond algorithms, beyond the debate about ethics, and I responded: Actually it's pure philosophic. It took her back and she told me that was not what she expected to hear and asked me to explain since now she was truly intrigued.

...beyond technology, beyond innovation, beyond robots, beyond algorithms, beyond the debate about ethics, and I responded: Actually it's pure philosophic.

For me what lies beneath the development and existence of another intelligence on this earth. It's like as a humanity we are giving birth to something. Something that we are teaching to be able to "think" for itself. And I love to compare this to on personal level giving birth to a child. And the questions and ideals that come with that. Just by knowing this child has a future beyond your existence, and you are guiding it to get ready for the world and BOOM: this consciousness to really be responsible for something that is bigger than yourself is there. In what kind of world do I want this child to grow up? which values will help it get around in this world, what would be the best surroundings for it to grow up, how and what will I provide it to help it grow, what are the limits? What are my limits? We don't want it to make the same mistakes as we did, we would love to give this child all the opportunities that maybe we missed or have learned from.

With AI I feel that this same consciousness is there but in a humanity level/scale. Because we as humans have the chance to teach another intelligence. We want it to better than humans and thus it gives us a chance to analyse humanity from an objective point of view. Translate our ways into binary code, and thus ask the question: "what is it to be human?" What is it to be human that we will not be able to transfer into this new intelligence? What is so unique about humans, and what is so destructive about humans. And because it's bigger than your persona, your family, your country, we feel united as humans, all humans.

I always had this insight that the only way for humans to put differences aside and "feel " united as a species is when we get invaded by aliens. So here we are: AI is humans child that we would create to bring out the best of all of us and analyze critically what it is to be human.

There is only one problem with this. And this is easily recognised if we compare this teaching AI, with our actual education system and mentality. Going back to parenting there is a double objective, We want the kids to be like us. But also we do not want them to be like us. With AI it is the same, we want it to be like humans, but also we do not want it to be as humans. Because it is really hard to create something that does not have human ”DNA” in the sense that the creation takes after it’s creator. It would be a great exercise to really ask the question: why do we want AI to be like humans?

I would love to see AI, being used to fill the gaps of what humans can not. And I don’t mean calculate and numbers... But analysing humans capacities that are not helping society. For example judge other people. As a species we still did not reach a level that we can see another human being and not judge them one way or another, it's our instinct. I know we are evolving (slowly), but if we admit that this is something that holds us back to evolve as a society that is inclusive and fair to all humans why do we not use this amazing aspect of AI that it is not capable to judge people. So decisions about jobs selection, funding, opportunities, etc. could be done by AI, based on data, not bias. On needs, not nationality. On capacity, not age. On mentality, not race, not culture.

Do you have any thoughts on this, I love to hear them, and I know there are so many projects out there that are creating solutions for this very question. Let you know if you stumble upon some, or you have a great idea...

With love,

Nikoline