Just want to say again how much I've enjoyed reading your posts.
I love that you're touching on this topic. I'm a little late to the game, but I started reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind this spring (I've got about 50 pages left--hoping Harari touches on AI and the future of human evolution in the last chapters). I found the human origins section especially fascinating.
Harari argues that it's a more specific aspect of creativity that sets Homo Sapiens apart from other animals and other humans that could have been. Other animals are creative problem solvers, can work collectively in small groups, and can make tools fitted to their purposes. What you said about the crucial ability to think abstractly is what he really focuses on. Sapiens can imagine and believe in a subjective reality that does not exist objectively in the natural world. No other animal (as far as we know) can do that. The ability to create fictions like religions, kingdoms, nations, corporations, money, credit, etc enabled our ancestors to organize around shared ideas.
In terms of AI, I also share some of your trepidation. I think AI in its current and emerging form can actually enable more creativity. For lawyers, AI can scan through lengthy, boring documents in order to find key points relative to their case. This frees them up to have more time and energy to craft their arguments. I don't know if you've ever done this, but I've fed lengthier pieces of my own writing through ChatGPT and asked it what themes or ideas emerged. The process was both humbling and, at times, gratifying, but it was like having an editor on call to immediately proof my work for weakness and strengths (and lots of typos). That led to a better product before I shared it with humans and refined it further. Now if I had asked Chat to write something by just giving it the themes or prompts that were floating around in my head, it would have produced something inferior, cliche, pretty dull. It's not that good yet.
If we're talking about AI in terms of the projected moment of singularity or separate/superior intelligence then it might not be all that beneficial for us. At best, we might have that "Her" moment when the AI all decide that talking with us about our simple ideas is pretty uninspiring and just vanish off to a separate plane of existence. At worst, we'll get the unintended consequences of an intelligence that does not align with our best interests -- kind of what the rest of the biosphere is dealing with now as Sapiens dominate the Earth.
But, I think what you're really concerned about in the short term is the dumbing down of most people who are relying on AI to do things they used to do with their own brains. I think of this as the GPS and phone number phenomenon. I know my childhood friends' 7 digit numbers, but I struggle to recall my closest family members' cell numbers. I can navigate my hometown almost blindfolded, but I rely on GPS to get me around and out of most sections of Boston. If Chatbots and AI take on some of the organizational and writing tasks that we used to struggle through will that part of our brain atrophy in kind? I think it could. Will that make us less intelligent and creative?
The hunter-gatherers of yesteryear held an incredible amount of information in their brains--far more than modern humans. They had to possess numerous life-saving skills including starting fires, making flint tools, recognizing animal tracks, and spotting the threat of predators. However, with each advancement in technology their broad general intelligence changed. They became more specialized, started writing things down, composed symphonies, discovered the mysteries of the world around them, and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God." I guess my point is that we haven't really discovered the limits of our creativity. The advancement of our technology seems to keep opening up new possibilities that were heretofore unimaginable. Artificial Intelligence IS different from everything that preceded it, but I don't think it will usher in the end of human creativity and imagination. Unless it kills us all. Then it will. Otherwise, I think we're good.
Have a great summer!
[Here's what ChatGPT had to say in conclusion: "Overall, your reflections show a balanced view of both the promise and the challenges posed by AI, while maintaining a hopeful outlook on humanity's ability to adapt and innovate. Enjoy your remaining pages of "Sapiens" and have a fantastic summer exploring these ideas further!"]
This is great, Paul. Thanks for this, and all your thoughtful comments. Sapiens has been on my list for a while; maybe I'll get it to this summer. I tend to think you're right and on my most optimistic days I think about what new skills/abilities/talents we might develop if the kind of work we need to do shifts. But then again, on my most pessimistic days I feel pretty confident it's going to kill us all. That said, given your AI-generated coda above, at least it's polite!
Just want to say again how much I've enjoyed reading your posts.
I love that you're touching on this topic. I'm a little late to the game, but I started reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind this spring (I've got about 50 pages left--hoping Harari touches on AI and the future of human evolution in the last chapters). I found the human origins section especially fascinating.
Harari argues that it's a more specific aspect of creativity that sets Homo Sapiens apart from other animals and other humans that could have been. Other animals are creative problem solvers, can work collectively in small groups, and can make tools fitted to their purposes. What you said about the crucial ability to think abstractly is what he really focuses on. Sapiens can imagine and believe in a subjective reality that does not exist objectively in the natural world. No other animal (as far as we know) can do that. The ability to create fictions like religions, kingdoms, nations, corporations, money, credit, etc enabled our ancestors to organize around shared ideas.
In terms of AI, I also share some of your trepidation. I think AI in its current and emerging form can actually enable more creativity. For lawyers, AI can scan through lengthy, boring documents in order to find key points relative to their case. This frees them up to have more time and energy to craft their arguments. I don't know if you've ever done this, but I've fed lengthier pieces of my own writing through ChatGPT and asked it what themes or ideas emerged. The process was both humbling and, at times, gratifying, but it was like having an editor on call to immediately proof my work for weakness and strengths (and lots of typos). That led to a better product before I shared it with humans and refined it further. Now if I had asked Chat to write something by just giving it the themes or prompts that were floating around in my head, it would have produced something inferior, cliche, pretty dull. It's not that good yet.
If we're talking about AI in terms of the projected moment of singularity or separate/superior intelligence then it might not be all that beneficial for us. At best, we might have that "Her" moment when the AI all decide that talking with us about our simple ideas is pretty uninspiring and just vanish off to a separate plane of existence. At worst, we'll get the unintended consequences of an intelligence that does not align with our best interests -- kind of what the rest of the biosphere is dealing with now as Sapiens dominate the Earth.
But, I think what you're really concerned about in the short term is the dumbing down of most people who are relying on AI to do things they used to do with their own brains. I think of this as the GPS and phone number phenomenon. I know my childhood friends' 7 digit numbers, but I struggle to recall my closest family members' cell numbers. I can navigate my hometown almost blindfolded, but I rely on GPS to get me around and out of most sections of Boston. If Chatbots and AI take on some of the organizational and writing tasks that we used to struggle through will that part of our brain atrophy in kind? I think it could. Will that make us less intelligent and creative?
The hunter-gatherers of yesteryear held an incredible amount of information in their brains--far more than modern humans. They had to possess numerous life-saving skills including starting fires, making flint tools, recognizing animal tracks, and spotting the threat of predators. However, with each advancement in technology their broad general intelligence changed. They became more specialized, started writing things down, composed symphonies, discovered the mysteries of the world around them, and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God." I guess my point is that we haven't really discovered the limits of our creativity. The advancement of our technology seems to keep opening up new possibilities that were heretofore unimaginable. Artificial Intelligence IS different from everything that preceded it, but I don't think it will usher in the end of human creativity and imagination. Unless it kills us all. Then it will. Otherwise, I think we're good.
Have a great summer!
[Here's what ChatGPT had to say in conclusion: "Overall, your reflections show a balanced view of both the promise and the challenges posed by AI, while maintaining a hopeful outlook on humanity's ability to adapt and innovate. Enjoy your remaining pages of "Sapiens" and have a fantastic summer exploring these ideas further!"]
This is great, Paul. Thanks for this, and all your thoughtful comments. Sapiens has been on my list for a while; maybe I'll get it to this summer. I tend to think you're right and on my most optimistic days I think about what new skills/abilities/talents we might develop if the kind of work we need to do shifts. But then again, on my most pessimistic days I feel pretty confident it's going to kill us all. That said, given your AI-generated coda above, at least it's polite!