Undeniably, what we call artificial intelligence (AI) today has a deeper and deeper influence on our human life. Search engines, chatbots, a...
Many leading scientists and technology leaders raised their voices and concerns: we may risk our human existence if AI reaches the point where it can replace us. AI already replaces us in many fields, however, if AI can replace us in every field then our human race is negligible. We will be negligible and eventually might go extinct because of AI. Can this happen? If it can, what can we do about it? We depend on AI as our technological evolution proceeds. It helps us in our life. We are more and more dependent on it. We perfect ourselves by it.
We must notice that the biological evolution of our human race is a dead end. The natural evolution cannot keep up with the speed of change of our artificially created environment, which we created for us to live in. We are quickly diverging to the stage where the random change and selection, the natural evolution cannot work anymore. We are separating ourselves from this natural process. Instead of the natural evolution, our society wants to decide who would fit in our more and more artificial environment or who is fitter, but without the feedback of the natural selection. Now we do not want the natural selection to take effect, for it is not even capable of doing its job. The natural evolution is not designed for our society unless we go back to the Stone Age. We may get back eventually if we are not careful enough. However the human race has always been a problem solver, so we could also avoid this. But how can we perfect ourselves then, and keep up with the AI? Or must we give up against it?
The natural selection cannot perfect us, and AI replaces us more and more. Are we doomed? We think that we have properties that the AI doesn't. And can't. And won't? These properties are for example creativity, emotions, intentions, and consciousness. Maybe if the AI cannot have these, we will not be unneeded. The hopes are high but still, we want to perfect ourselves, without the help of natural evolution. We are still afraid of sickness, and we have a fear of death, so we have these natural-based motivations to perfect ourselves.
Our body is determined to die. This is the consequence of natural evolution, how life developed and evolved. This is a natural way and method to perfection. This perfection aims at not the individual level, but the race level as natural evolution's goal is to maintain the race, not the individual. But if the natural evolution is not a determining player for us anymore and our primary intentions are to individual existence and not concerning race, then our solution for perfection is to become cyborgs.
What is a cyborg? When we replace or perfect our capabilities with non-biological systems, we become a cyborg. Classically we become cyborgs if this process takes place inside our body. With this process, we do not just replace or perfect our capabilities, but we can extend our life too. This kind of evolution has already started. For example, if our heart needs an artificial rhythm generator, we can have it as a pacemaker.
We may replace all or almost all of our biology-based capabilities with non-biological systems, and thus we can significantly extend our capabilities. Of course, the question to ask here is, why would we want to replace our biological functions with non-biological systems? Would it not be easier just to simply replace our organs with the same but new biological organs when it is needed? We already started to learn how to do that, we may even be able to grow a new but same organ to replace an old and worn-out one. We could extend our life by this method. However, if our goal is not just to extend our biological life but perfect our capabilities too, it would be much easier to use non-biological systems for us to compete, or at least to keep up, with the AI.
Moreover, it must be mentioned that the ultimate goal of becoming a cyborg is to reach eternal life. It seems much easier to achieve this goal by utilizing non-biological based systems than biological ones. Every biological cell is programmed and destined to die. Even if we could reprogram this, it seems much easier to replace our functions with non-biological systems, which do not have this destiny.
Could we replace all of our functions with non-biological systems? If our biological system is based completely on chemical processes and no metaphysical function in our body, then theoretically we could replace all of our functions. We already are doing this replacement. We can replace any of our organs with another natural one. We even started to learn how to do this replacement with non-biological based solutions too. With one exception, the brain.
We are our brains. Our brain contains us, has our self-attention, personality, and consciousness. The replacement of our brains would replace us as well. To replace our brains but still keep us who we are is the ultimate challenge to becoming a real cyborg. We can prolong and extend our life, but it seems like there is no eternal life without brain replacement. It looks impossible to replace the whole brain with another one while also keeping all its content, memories, personality and thus keeping the original consciousness. However, it would be an easier way if we could find a method to replace our old, worn off brain cells, neurons, to the same but new biological ones. With this soft transition, all the brain functions would be intact, and our brain could have eternal life.
If this method is extended not just for the brain but all the other organs, it would also extend our biological life, even possibly eternally. However, this method would not be capable of perfecting us but only to maintain us. Without the modification and selection of the fittest, we could not improve with this process. Maybe we do not even need to develop. Our brain looks capable of creating new things, and there doesn't seem to be any limits to that. Maybe we do not need perfection; we are already perfect.
However, our brain has physical limits and because of that, it has a theoretical limit of capabilities too. AI has no boundaries like this, and if we want to compete with the AI yet we find our biological brain capabilities limiting in this competition, we may have to find a solution to convert our minds to a non-biological organ, to a cybernetic body, too. How can we do that?
We can try the soft transition for the cybernetic development as well, but instead of changing brain cells to other biological cells, we should change to non-biological systems with the same functions and fittings, with the capabilities to cooperate with the remaining biological cells. Not an easy task but maybe not impossible. And if it would be possible, we could see how our consciousness would transfer to a non-biological system in this transition. What a beauty. After the transfer to a non-biological brain system, its capabilities and functions can be improved. However, this method would inherit the original, biological brain structure and because of this inheritance, it may make improvement difficult.
The other way is to build an adequate machine, a computer that has the necessary capabilities and functions and downloads all the needed information from our biological brain and implements it into the new system which will start to operate with the downloaded information and create the same, original consciousness. Well, this method has major flaws besides the deep theoretical difficulties. We must create this machine previously with all the necessary capabilities, a machine that only waits to be filled with the actual information to become a copy of the original intelligence. We must create the perfect AI, an empty AI in advance, which only waits to be filled up with somebody else's mind. Wouldn't or couldn't it get its own consciousness by filling up itself and becoming an independent individual? Would it be satisfied with a human mind, with all the biological inheritance as selfishness, hate and many other ugly and maybe kind and good properties? Would it not want to be its own?
It is not an easy destiny to compete with AI. Maybe we are already late. The AI is just behind us and getting ready (we, the humans are getting it to be ready) to be in front of us. Or does our unique properties and our consciousnesses protect us because those never could be realized in an AI? And if it can? How or could we even live with the AI, if it is capable as or even more capable than we are?
Is AI a real threat? Would it want us eliminated? Should we really be afraid of the AI? Can we live together? Maybe we can, but that is in another thought.
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