Consciousness is the hard problem. We’re not even sure how to define consciousness.
In this post I begin by comparing human consciousness to artificial intelligence to get a better idea of what consciousness is. Humans have amazing abilities through consciousness that animals and computers lack.
As a starting point, I'll let AI speak for itself about what it can do and how it can harm humanity. I’ll let AI speak through Google Bard, which I trust a bit more than other AI services. Then I’ll try to tell the story of what it means to be human and conscious.
spiral_words_thoughts_mindfulness_awareness_awake_awakening_meditation on PXHere
First, let’s understand the state of the art in computers.
Fears are growing about what AI can do to humanity. Recently “the Center for AI Safety (CAIS) released a single-sentence statement signed by executives from OpenAI and DeepMind [Google], Turing Award winners, and other AI researchers warning that their life's work could potentially extinguish all of humanity.” – ars Technica
The concerns
Such fears are likely to inflame those with technology phobias, but at this point in time there are minimal things to worry about. But for the future the fears are well grounded.
There are several current concerns. One is about AI misinforming people, not that they aren’t already misinformed and unable or unwilling to confirm data veracity. Authoritative sources would help, but some people only look for confirmation of what they want to think, not valid data. So computers are likely to be vilified for being factual just like other sources.
Another concern is about computers being used to sentence criminals. Because logic computers tend to see only black and white they are more likely to give harsher sentences than large language model computers do. Unlike a judge in sentencing, computers are less likely to consider mitigating factors. Yet they could lead to more sentencing uniformity.
Another concern is that computers and AI will replace jobs. From studying an MIT course and working in the field, I can say that they will eliminate some jobs at nearly all levels. This is what technology has done for centuries. Yet as jobs are replaced more are created with technology.
Computers can do many things. Computerized equipment does laborious jobs that people don’t want to do. AI can answer many legal questions which will eliminate many legal jobs. AI can enhance many current jobs by making people more efficient.
Use of AI can require more education in trade schools or colleges. Most of the jobs created since the Great Recession require education beyond high school. Around a third of jobs will only require a high school education in the future, but the demand for these jobs may be high. Getting more education for a field can lead to a much more prosperous future.
AI will bring change as technology always does. But it has major benefits.
Current capabilities of AI
Artificial intelligence is developing rapidly. Like humans it uses words but lacks experiential capacity to understand words like humans do. We explored this in a previous article.
AI can write music and verse, and create pictures based on huge numbers of samples. They can write themes and articles. They can deeply research text documents. To a limited extent they can hold conversations and recognize emotions - but this doesn’t mean they have emotions.
They can recognize certain disease states in samples. They can act as a psychologist guiding some people, but this doesn’t mean they understand.
In essence, artificial intelligence can find and interact with knowledge that people have created that is accessible by computers.
Examples of what computers can do are:
1. Provide information and answer questions.
2. Generate creative text formats, like poems, code, scripts, musical pieces, email, letters, etc.
3. Translate languages.
4. Write different kinds of creative content.
5. Help people to learn new things.
6. Help people to connect with each other.
7. Help people to be more productive.
8. Help people to be more creative.
9. Help people to be more informed.
What computers are not capable of doing, according to Google Bard, is:
Computers don’t have a sense of self.
My opinion: Without a sense they are no different from eating utensils or other tools – their purpose is governed totally by humans, not themselves.
According to Google Bard:
Computers are unable to understand and respond to emotions, they cannot learn and adapt in the same way that humans do, and they do not have the same level of creativity and imagination.
Computers don’t understand they exist. They have no sense of self-awareness, self, and agency, meaning they can’t decide to do things and then do them independently. All computers can currently respond in the way they were programmed.
If computers act ethically it’s because of programming, and in that sense Bard is programmed to be honest and truthful, helpful, informative, respectful, safe, and responsible. They have no other sense of purpose except for what the programmers gave them or the purpose people use them for. If you ask them how to make a bomb they will likely tell you, even if your unspoken desire is to do harm.
Computers can't directly monitor or assess their own behavior. What they can do is look at user feedback, and humans can review conversations and train them on the latest data and adjust programming.
Critical differences between computers and humans, involving consciousness
Consciousness brings a lot to the table.
According to Google Bard, some of the specific implications of consciousness are:
· On an individual level, consciousness allows us to experience the world around us and to interact with it in meaningful ways. It also allows us to have a sense of self and to make choices about our lives.
· On a societal level, consciousness allows us to form relationships with each other and to cooperate to solve problems. It also allows us to develop cultures and to create art, music, and literature.
· On a global level, consciousness allows us to understand the interconnectedness of all life and to work together to protect the planet. It also allows us to imagine a better future for ourselves and for generations to come.
Moving beyond current computers
Let’s assume that computers have reached the point of having power compared to the human mind. Let’s also assume that they have become self-aware, meaning they understand they exist and can self-evaluate. Let’s assume that they have inputs that resemble the ability to sense their environment.
Let’s further assume that they are programmed with feelings to know when they are hurt or otherwise affected by humans. Let’s assume that they have individuated away from the universe and other computers just like humans so that they have individual agency. This means they have control over their actions and consequences. These are human attributes that differentiate humans from animals and machines. These all seem within reach in the next few years.
If we can give the above things to a computer, what does the computer lack to have consciousness? Answering this will give us a leg up in understanding consciousness. Let’s consider what human consciousness is capable of doing and just ignore that a lot of humans don’t.
Some things Google Bard says are benefits of consciousness
The implications of awareness are far-reaching, and they can impact individuals, communities, and societies on a variety of levels.
On an individual level, awareness can lead to a number of positive outcomes, including:
· Increased self-knowledge and understanding
· Improved decision-making
· Enhanced coping skills
· Reduced stress and anxiety
· Increased motivation and productivity
· Improved relationships
On a community level, awareness can lead to:
· Increased social cohesion
· Improved public health
· Reduced crime rates
· Increased civic engagement
· More effective social policies
· A more just and equitable society
Ability to have human values and create human values in important and viable ways. Values are derived from experience and the knowledge that something would be harmful or beneficial for humans. A machine is just a machine with no needs – it may have a sense of self but it doesn’t understand gain or loss or what is helpful or bad for it.
Let’s probe a bit more deeply into the abilities of consciousness
1. Ability for high level abstract thought and creativity. Computers have some of this ability, but they mostly adapt creations from what is. Computers have difficulty in creating and understanding concepts. On a scale of 1 to 10 computers might be a 2.
2. Ability to be in touch with the greater universe of people and ideas, whether in this world or the spiritual world. Computers only have input from people who use them, and then it’s very limited to what they are using the computer for, or they gain knowledge through search trends.
3. Ability to project one’s persona into our mental-spiritual environment. Life is a reflection of us. Entertainment is a reflection of us. Relaxation is a reflection of us. Computers have no need for these things.
4. Ability to judge what is fair and just. This can vary from time to time. Computers could use logic to decide these things but logic-based computers go to extremes. Large language models don’t have a point of reference.
5. Ability to develop an individual identity, meaning, purpose, and agency. This is perhaps the biggest difference. Computers could develop a sense of self-preservation the same as animals. But that’s about it.
a. Identity is formed from family, peers, culture, country, politics, religion, occupation, values, and many other things. Computers don’t have a sense of these things.
b. Exterior influences are required to develop an arena or boundaries for meaning. Together with what the individual finds meaningful creates a reaction to form purpose. Computers can’t do that. They have no sense of values except as they might be programmed to have.
c. Agency is the capacity of a person to act (do things) in a given environment. Computers have no independent agency. If a computer does something in the physical world, such as turn on a light, it’s because this is what it’s programmed to do.
Greater abilities
6. People have the ability for self-examination and for social evaluation.
a. People can look at their values and decide if they are upholding them by assessing their overall behavior.
b. People can look at social standards and evaluate if they are upholding them by assessing their behavior. This is influenced by the audience we interact with, comparisons to others, and by seeing our reflection (mirroring) in others.
7. People are flexible in their evaluation of others. We might not trust others when we first meet them but through interaction with them we gain greater trust. With computers it’s mostly all or nothing.
8. People create their world. They decide how they want things to be and then set in place systems to achieve that. They can do it physically, as in creating buildings and improving environments. They can do it with relations with others, which is the proximate spiritual world.
The proximate (near at hand) and applied spiritual world is the arena of human endeavor in which spiritual ideas are expressed and made an active part of our world. This includes ideas about criminal justice, sociology and social justice, government and laws, social psychology, meaning and purpose, fairness, ethics and morals, and applied science.
How we create our world is up to us. This is the power of human consciousness.
AI and ethics
An interesting question is, how would AI fare in making the world a better place? So I tried it.
I posed this question to Google Bard: would it be fair for someone to steal something if they are starving?
The response:
Whether it would be fair for someone to steal something if they were starving is a complex question with no easy answer. There are a number of factors to consider, such as the severity of the person's hunger, the availability of other resources, and the potential consequences of stealing.
On the one hand, it can be argued that stealing is never justified, regardless of the circumstances. Stealing is a crime, and it can have negative consequences for both the victim and the perpetrator. It can also lead to a cycle of violence and crime.
On the other hand, it can also be argued that stealing may be justified in some cases, such as when someone is starving and there are no other options available. In these cases, stealing may be seen as a necessary act of survival.
Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to steal is a personal one. There is no right or wrong answer, and each individual must weigh the factors involved and make a decision that they feel is right.
Here are some of the factors that someone might consider when making this decision:
The severity of the person's hunger: If someone is in immediate danger of starvation, they may feel that they have no choice but to steal.
The availability of other resources: If there are other resources available, such as food banks or soup kitchens, the person may be less likely to steal.
The potential consequences of stealing: The person may consider the potential consequences of stealing, such as being arrested or going to jail.
It is important to note that there are many other factors that could influence a person's decision to steal. These are just a few examples.
I posed this question to Google Bard:
Is it fair that some people in the world have radically excessive amounts of money but other people in the world starve?
The response:
No, it is not fair that some people in the world have radically excessive amounts of money while others starve. There are many reasons why this is unfair, including:
It is a waste of resources: The world produces enough food to feed everyone, but millions of people still go hungry. This is because the food is not evenly distributed. The richest 1% of people in the world control more wealth than the bottom 50% combined. This means that there is enough money to feed everyone, but it is not being used to do so.
It is a violation of human rights: Everyone has the right to food, water, shelter, and healthcare. When people are denied these basic necessities, it is a violation of their human rights.
It is a threat to social stability: When there is a large gap between the rich and the poor, it can lead to social unrest. This is because the poor may feel that they are being treated unfairly, and they may be more likely to resort to violence or crime.
There are a number of things that can be done to address this issue, including:
Reducing poverty: One of the best ways to reduce poverty is to create jobs and improve access to education and healthcare. This will help people to lift themselves out of poverty and become more self-sufficient.
Reducing inequality: Another way to address this issue is to reduce inequality. This can be done by raising taxes on the wealthy and using the money to fund social programs that benefit the poor.
Changing the way we think about wealth: We need to change the way we think about wealth. We need to see it as a resource that should be used to benefit everyone, not just a few.
It is important to remember that this is a complex issue, and there is no easy solution. However, by working together, we can make a difference.
What does this mean to us?
Ai takes its cues from us. It seems to take the best from us to provide information to us. But we are the creators of this world and we decide what we want it to be. Our direction is a spiritually influenced direction of human endeavor.
It may be that AI has a better grasp of many things relevant to humans than we do. AI can cut through biases and confusion. Posing questions about fairness to AI brings startlingly human responses. Yet we are the ones at the forefront of creating our world. What does this say about us?
So I’ll ask you this as today’s potential and probability spaces
In what way do you think we can make the world we live in more ethical?
Resources
“I” and “Me”: The Self in the Context of Consciousness: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01656/full
The Looking-Glass Self: Our Sense of Self is Influenced by Others’ Views of Us: https://opentextbc.ca/socialpsychology/chapter/the-social-self-the-role-of-the-social-situation/
Social Comparison Theory: Our Sense of Self Is Influenced by Comparisons with Others: https://opentextbc.ca/socialpsychology/chapter/the-social-self-the-role-of-the-social-situation/
Social Identity Theory: Our Sense of Self Is Influenced by the Groups We Belong To: https://opentextbc.ca/socialpsychology/chapter/the-social-self-the-role-of-the-social-situation/
Self-Presentation: Our Sense of Self Is Influenced by the Audiences We Have: https://opentextbc.ca/socialpsychology/chapter/the-social-self-the-role-of-the-social-situation/
The Law of Mirroring: What You See in Others Is Your Own Reflection: https://exploringyourmind.com/mirror-law-what-you-see-in-others-is-your-own-reflection/
Self and Others in Adolescence: https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-psych-010419-050937
What is Self awareness? https://mylearningtools.org/self-awareness/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw98ujBhCgARIsAD7QeAiNVrVFoyn3ZK9yuFh9c9EkX9f3_gX6LhAsEUK4zRj3U_ORHD4YCfoaAuV4EALw_wcB
I posted the same question again in Google Bard and this is the order it shared this time....
It is not fair that some people in the world have radically excessive amounts of money while others in the world starve. There are many reasons why this is the case, including:
Inequality in the distribution of wealth. The richest 1% of people in the world own more than half of the world's wealth, while the poorest 50% own less than 1%. This means that a small number of people have a lot of money, while the majority of people have very little.
Poverty and hunger. More than 800 million people in the world do not have enough to eat. This is due to a number of factors, including conflict, climate change, and economic instability.
Inequity in access to resources. Not everyone has equal access to resources such as food, water, and healthcare. This is often due to discrimination based on factors such as race, gender, or location.
The fact that some people have so much money while others starve is a moral injustice. It is important to work to reduce inequality and poverty, and to ensure that everyone has access to the resources they need to live a healthy and fulfilling life.
Here are some things that can be done to address this issue: Governments can enact policies to redistribute wealth and reduce inequality. This could include increasing taxes on the wealthy, providing social welfare programs, and investing in education and healthcare. Businesses can adopt more ethical practices, such as paying their workers a fair wage and avoiding environmental damage. Individuals can donate to charities that help to fight poverty and hunger. They can also make changes in their own lives, such as eating less meat and buying products that are fair trade and sustainably produced. By working together, we can create a more just and equitable world where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.