Way back in 2017 I must have had a little too much time to kill. I wrote a whole article entitled, “What is the singularity and when will it happen?” It seemed like a lot of people were talking about that subject back in the ’10s. I don’t think I’ve even heard the word in years, despite the idea seeming more and more plausible.
TL;DR
If you aren’t interested in clicking back to that article, I laid out the idea of what “the singularity” is, and why we might be only 20 years away from it. Simply, it’s the point where computer intelligence and human intelligence are at about the same level. At that point the two could merge in ways that we can’t even imagine today. The first time I heard the term, maybe 15 years ago, it seemed plausible but far off.
Of late I’ve been spending time with a few artificial intelligences that seem pretty darn smart. ChatGPT is the darling of the day. It’s a new AI project, really just a program. But, it’s so far demonstrated the ability to do things that we thought only creative humans could do. Things like writing letters, even writing computer code. It’s easy to imagine it as being one step away from the singularity.
Do computers have consciousness?
As far as we know, and as far as we are able to tell, computers are not conscious and don’t have the sort of intelligence and self-awareness that we ascribe to humans. But in my mind, that brings up the question of, “how do we know?” It seems like we don’t really have a clear understanding of how human consciousness works. It’s a very complex thing and if we can’t define it for ourselves, how can we define it for computers? And if we can’t define it, how do we know if it even exists?
To me the real question is a bit thornier. I wonder if consciousness on a human level is unique to humans. Now, stay with me, this is going to be a little weird. If there were another conscious form of life — and I’m not saying there isn’t — would its consciousness be the same as ours? Maybe the reason we haven’t found intelligent life outside earth is that other forms of life perceive reality differently from the way we do. Maybe computers perceive reality differently from the way we do. Or at least maybe they will, when they get to that point.
Good, bad, or indifferent?
I think that’s still the problem. When we have the ability to upgrade our brains with artificial tech, will that make us better or worse? Or will it simply have no effect that makes a difference? I mean, look back on the last 50 years. We’ve gone from a society based on typewriters, index cards, and research libraries to one that has the sum total of all knowledge in the palms of our hands at all times. Has that made us different as humans, or has it just changed our habits? Who’s to say?
The race is on
And in my personal opinion, since I’m pretty much completely in the weeds at this point, I don’t think we’re really qualified to know that answer yet. If you were born in the 21st century, you have never experienced life without an internet. But you’ve only experience about 23 year of life so far. We don’t know what 50 years, 75 years, etc. of internet will do to your brain. We don’t know how that will change you compared to someone born in the 20th century.
The real question, though, is whether or not we’ll know in time. We as humans may not be able to get the information on whether the singularity is good or bad until after it happens. Luckily, I tend to think that’s someone else’s problem.
