From Tools to Being

The history of humanity is a testament to the progress we have achieved using various tools. Technology is not just a good thing to have. It has become a source of competitive advantage. Technology has become the go-to differentiator between the haves and the have-nots. People or organizations must use the latest cutting-edge tools to progress in their domain.

For the past 500 years when science exploded, we have been creating tools, one after the other. Tools have made our lives easier and simpler. However, the tools had a limitation. They depended on us to start them or use them in a particular way. A hammer does not strike the nail by itself. It requires a human to wield it.

Fast forward to today.

Computers are also tools, but now they have become semi or fully autonomous. Take for instance the algorithm of TikTok or Instagram. The feed that you get is curated by an AI algorithm that maximizes screen time. (In turn, feeding you with posts that are of interest to you) There is no human in between. LLMs like GPT-4 or Bard are learning from your inputs. RLHF (Reinforcement learning from Human Feedback) is the last mile.

The progress that AI has made in the last 10 years in leaps and bounds, so much so that some claim that they are sentient. Our intelligence which we are so proud of is under siege. Machines are not only capable of IQ but also display emergent properties like Creativity, Empathy, Collaboration, etc. What we once considered our forte is being encroached upon. From being nifty tools, machines are transforming into beings like us.

Are machines really a species like us? This is a quagmire because we do not understand ourselves completely. Nobody knows consciousness, how the mind works, and perception, except in bits and pieces. We have been good as creators without understanding the implications of our creations. Will we go the same route with machines, either as a super beneficial boon to mankind or as denizens of an impending apocalypse? Only time will tell.

God Bless!