Non-sociopathic humans have gut feelings of right & wrong. Instinct is part of the human experience, even if it compels individuals to act in different ways. Sometimes we just know that something is wrong, but we can’t articulate why. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this. It becomes a problem when we think we can build machines that can navigate this gray area. If we haven’t reached a universal conception of morality, we can’t build machines that can: they’ll always value what we program them to. Computers are literal to a fault: they won’t course-correct using their “better judgement” or “common sense” like humans (theoretically) can. The classic robo-pocaylse movies often hinge on instances where a small technicality results in the near-destruction or enslavement of our species.
I wrote about this about a year ago. I’m still figuring out my relationship to the technology I use every day. We spend a lot of time making “machines in the likeness of a human mind”. Wouldn’t it make more sense to make a machine that complements our mind’s shortcomings, rather than replace it entirely?
Current artificial intelligence often uses neural networks. These structures mimic the way our brains process information. But intelligence is so much more than brainpower: it’s gut feelings, sixth senses, judgements and intuitions. A satiric essay in Blockchain Chicken Farm conceptualizes artificial intelligence as modeled after the entire body, not just the brain. It’s not just our thoughts that influence our actions. For a computer to be truly intelligent, it needs to incorporate all our non-mental epistemologies too.
The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency.
The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.
Bill Gates, Quoted in The Four Hour Workweek
A computer doesn’t know how to adroitly tell a hard truth or have a difficult conversation. Even the most socially inept among us recognize that some interactions require more tact than others. You’d have to program the hell out of a computer to have even the tact of a wallflower at a middle school dance.
A computer’s approach would be to convey the information in the most effective way. Even if we humans decide that blunt, efficient delivery of an uncomfortable truth is the best course of action, most of us would feel guilty while doing so. It’s fine if you ultimately end up deciding to rip the band-aid off. I’m a big fan of ripping the band aid off. I’m a bigger fan of avoiding band-aid solutions as an excuse to put off a difficult conversation. What’s important is that we pause and reflect on what we feel and why.
People often forsake their feelings to do what’s “right” or “rational.” I’m not a fan of this approach. Just ask Prince Zuko from ATLA or Kate & Anthony from Bridgerton how that worked out for them. Ask them how they knew what the ‘right thing” was supposed to be. They were brainwashed into their moral frameworks. Chances are, you were too. This is a byproduct of our culture and society—it’s inevitable. But if how you feel is at odds with how you were socialized to act, that’s important to unpack.
Computers don’t have gut feelings. They don’t have feelings at all, no matter what Plankton, Her, or the UI/UX department of your favorite software suggest. If machines made society’s decisions, we would live terrible lives. We’d wake up calibrated to our circadian rhythms, drink our metabolically-tailored nutrition shakes, and head off to an assigned vocation algorithmically determined by our aptitudes and society’s needs. If this sounds like your wet dream, you might be Thanos, Joseph Stalin or a biohacking tech bro—and I’d be curious to see how you found this site (please sign up for the mailing list).
It’s up to the rest of us to keep better keep computers in their place, lest we enter a Brave New World.
This Week’s Top 3
- Fire pit in the backyard 🔥 – s’mores. Lots of s’mores.
- Princess Mononoke 🐺 – rewatch—first time on the big screen instead of my sad laptop
- Fiona Grey ✨ – saw her at a concert I worked this weekend. Pop music that doesn’t feel like it was industry-planted. And what a stage presence!