Artificial Intelligence (AI)
In this digitalised and cyber-driven era artificial intelligence has taken both a benign and sinister aura. AI is a computer-related development that has taken on a somewhat sinister interpretation. Because intelligence has always been associated with a human processing capability, the idea of it being copied by a machine is disconcerting for some. Its “intelligence” comes from feeding powerful computers with an enormous amount of data from which they can create internally derived algorithms that simulate the way a human brain operates. Another way of putting it is that AI is the development of computers able to transact in seemingly human processes that involve reasoning, auto-correction, and learning. We may also view AI as another tool for the extension of human intelligence through computer technology.
When we refer to computers “learning” it means that its software succeeds to predict and react to different scenarios based on previous outcomes. Data is the fuel that makes it possible for computers to develop pattern recognition, continuously learn, and make predictions. Machine learning is an integral part of the artificial intelligence system, which enables automated analytical models to be built. A beneficial way to view AI is that it serves to amplify human capabilities and transform massive amounts of data into valuable insights and applications.
The power of AI systems is becoming more and more evident in every aspect of human endeavor. It has enhanced rapid advances in home, workplace and other automation. The biggest benefactors of this innovative technology are the large corporations that churn out and store the greatest amount of data. Most of this information comes from human interactions on various platforms controlled by these corporate giants. They surreptitiously hoover up data often without the consent and knowledge of the entities supplying it. We have no guarantee that the people that control these organizations will be using the data for positive and benign purposes.
As machines become ever more powerful in processes previously reserved for humans there is some fear that they can undermine the social and economic fabric that binds us together. This has become an ever-increasing area of concern for many independent intellectuals and think-tanks. Some fear that powerful, self-actuating machines can take over and subordinate humans to causes driven solely by cold reasoning. The unanswered question is how these machines can be made to follow certain moral and ethical codes that lead to compassionate decision making. The concerns of one of the world’s most eminent scientists, Stephen Hawking, was that artificial intelligence could progressively redesign itself at an ever-increasing rate and supersede humans. Although these fears seem to be far-fetched and seemingly distant, history has proven that it is worthwhile to pay closer attention to evolutionary technological breakthroughs. We have seen that they can be used to benefit or harm mankind.
Wisdom-Based Intelligence
Humans have been morally challenged throughout history by transformative and revolutionary technological advances. The splitting of the atom and the subsequent development of the atomic bomb in 1945 unleashed the mass production of nuclear-powered weapons of mass destruction. But it also provided the means to build new sources of electric energy. The former has created an unstable balance of terror that could yet prove to be catastrophic and hugely destructive. The latter has provided many parts of the world with electrical power without the pollution of fossil fuels. It is not without its problems as Chernobyl and Fukushima has shown. But new advancements in nuclear power plants have become much safer and provide much less nuclear waste.
The salient point is that we are constantly tested during the entire human history to make the right moral choices. Like nuclear energy AI technology can lead to great benefits or become a destructive force manipulated by unscrupulous entities. Faced with this ever-repeating conundrum we have to recognize the true meaning and purpose of human life. We are not robots. We are provided with a free will giving us the ability to make choices. However, without recognizing our true nature and connection to Eternal Light we continue to flounder in spiritual darkness. We have to realize that the choices we make must be guided by our spiritual wisdom, which is aligned with EL. The decisions that we make on technology, politics, economics, social structures and other matters should always be guided by a love driven-morality. This is the essential bond that ties us directly with EL’s purpose for life everywhere in the universe.
Guided by this overriding principle, we would not need to fear the development of technology and other systems because it should be in our power to use them with the greater good in mind. Technology in the twenty-first century has brought about rapid changes that have dramatically transformed some of the old behavior patterns. We refer to this as disruptive innovation. It affects every aspect of our lives. The challenge is to find the right balance between the destructive and the beneficial. This requires not only well-reasoned long-range planning but, even more importantly, a moral compass.
In the current socio-political setting morality is too often the missing link. Globalization is turning out not to be the great panacea that it was meant to become. The old geopolitical confrontations are starting to show their ugly heads in every corner of the world. AI-enhanced technology is being dedicated to ever-more sophisticated armaments. As always, it becomes a question of choices on how we put our innovations to use.