The Shape of Our Future
Humans, machines, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Our species has only survived this long on the basis of its ability to continuously adapt to the environment and the ever-emerging changes all around. We have also thrived on our instinctive inclination towards solving problems — natural or man contrived.
Although the nature of naturally occurring environmental threats to humankind has been pretty much the same, and sometimes even predictable, threats that emerge as a result of human actions are constantly evolving with us.
We are only still here because of our ability to respond intelligently to situations as they emerge.
Interestingly, we did not acquire this trait at a point along the line; obviously innate but with continued improvement over time.
For instance, fossils excavated in some parts of East Africa indicate that the early man developed simple utilitarian stone tools to oil the wheels of their (likely tedious & very frequent) processes/activities as far much as 2.5 million years ago.
These discoveries, and a conglomeration of the many other undeniable anthropological facts presented throughout the histories of modern humans, suggest that human intelligence is the springboard that constantly launches us to innovate in sequence with clear and present challenges which often results in the creation of contrivances to overcome such challenges.
Present-day humans have made giant strides in the areas of problem-solving and have very nearly perfected the art of, so to say, machinery.
Never before has the impact of human existence/activities been so profoundly felt since the birth of our planet — so much so that it poses a significant level of threat to our natural habitat resulting in, for instance, Global Warming; we have been said to be the first humans enabled to actively influence our own evolution — unprecedented!
The artistic elements of the renaissance period are similar to some of the attributes characterized by this modern digital age once we’ve looked past the obvious differences in medium. We are in an era of a full-blown ‘binary renaissance’ — an age of digital and technological artistry; with all kinds of creatives solving complex problems in platoons of impressive approaches.
Whether it is in the ways megacities are reimagining housing and building constructions, or the ways machines are being designed to push the limits of innovation in transportation and manufacturing, or in the ways, clever computer programs are being used to tackle problems in medicine, security, and education, civil engineering, or even the simplest ways aesthetically pleasing digitally made works of art are created.
The many advancements in technology come at a cost — there are biological, chemical and nuclear threats to the safety of lives and properties; the depletion of the earth’s ozone layer by carbon emissions is a nightmarish menace to our planet as the rising temperatures continue to nib away at the icecaps in the arctic regions; aquatic lives are threatened by wastes generated by man, plastic and similar non-biodegradable materials bein the worst culprits.
Coral reefs are fast disappearing; wild animals are constantly on their heels as increased human activities and urbanization often mean deforestation and consequently, for some wildlife, loss of their natural habitats.
That said, it is important to note that in spite of the negative impacts human activities have had on our ecosystem, these advancements have also helped us in gaining significant level of understanding of our planet, even beyond — advancement which had by implication fanned the flames of many perplexing discoveries, some of which have applicative uses that have saved lives of humans and animals. Many of the machines, from simple to sophisticated, made by humans have helped shape the course of modern history with their disruptive capabilities — take (air) transportation or radio communication for instance.
I have no doubt that as we advance further into the future, we will potentially create more problems, but also create cutting-edge solutions to improve the quality of our lives. Many people today are threatened by the inevitability of the maturity of the AI age, and I think that is normal — humans often feel threatened by what we don’t understand; especially in the light of increasing cases of digital privacy breaches, and increasingly high cases of cyber-crimes.
These concerns are even made more real as our everyday lives have become so heavily dependant on these techno-driven alternatives competitively offered up as ‘better’ options to many conventional products/services. Thus in the cybersecurity world; the pressure is constantly mounting to remain a step ahead of these types of criminals — who pose a constant nightmare!
There’s a growing concern over the chances of humans being losing their jobs/source of livelihood to robots and automated systems in a not too distant future, and I think these concerns are valid and pose quite a number of moral and ethical concerns that are worth putting into consideration by inventors, innovators, policymakers and other stakeholders if we’re to secure our future as humans.
A number of machines created by man have been helping us push the boundaries of our own physical and mental limitations for a long time now, and the efforts put into bringing them about have proven to be well worth it.
Cranes, seafaring vessels, aircraft, computers, etc., are all at present well-received among humans, and I believe this is because they have been ‘battle-tested’, and proven to work time and again.
However, machines that are designed to interact with humans, while maintaining a high level of autonomy; to ‘think’, to act, and respond in manners akin to humans don’t have a similar level of approval from a vast majority of us — not just yet.
Unlike their ancestors — basic, mechanical task performing machines, they still have quite some ground to cover in convincing humans that they really do ‘come in peace’, before they are allowed to become fully integrated into human societies.
We need to perceive them in a more positive light and help the transition fully from the pages of fiction into reality. This fiction-like reality might be a little closer than we think. The application of Artificial intelligence is already in use in some aspects of mass-production and logistics (Amazon), security (surveillance in China), data processing & communication (Google), passive self-driving capabilities (in Tesla vehicles).
AI sure potentially offers us loads of easter eggs in the areas of efficiency optimization (at scale), but there are still a few hurdles to surmount first.
I don’t think humans would be displaced by intelligent machines though. I believe instead, the nature of work will evolve to the maturation of the humans-machine relationship — where humans would seem to possess superhuman capabilities as a result of our deep understanding and working knowledge of the applicative capabilities built into the machines of our future everyday life.
More individuals, able-bodied or otherwise; within the white, blue or pink collar working factions will be empowered to overcome their everyday limitations and obstacles utilizing various forms of highly efficient machines.
The shape of the future of human development will be non-linear; triangular pyramid with:
Humans -> Machines -> and Artificial Intelligence
— intricately linked at the connecting nodes, blazing the humanity trails upwards and beyond.
