Artificial Intelligence: Progression or Regression?:
Human beings are bundles of emotions – And the binding force leading to communication is this emotion of connectivity. And today Artificial Intelligence (AI) has come to stay and it seems to promise this connectivity. We have to be clear whether it is enhancing our inter-personal relationship or enriching business-contacts. Human beings have been making ascending progress in communication vis a vie connectivity. From making sounds, then showing signs, followed by drawings, and then language through music and dance, human beings built up their communication ability and channels. Then came the computer age and now we are in the Artificial Intelligence age, where the robots have begun to replace much of what human beings could do, from taking care of the elderly, reminding one to follow the chore of the day, to assisting in complex and complicated medical intervention even surgery from a remote place. We invented these electronic gadgets and named them artificial intelligence – We should not forget that they are artificial and not natural. The original concept or intention for such inventions was to bring us together – Humankind should converge in order to achieve more with meaning for us all but today these same gadgets seem to isolate us from each other. Each one is reduced to an island in the human sea or ocean left with his/her instrument or entity of artificial intelligence. Robots are gaining currency – Countries are ready to offer citizenship to such humanoids.
As informed citizens we need to develop simultaneously our critical thinking. Is Artificial Intelligence for our convenience or conversion to make a better world. Does AI help us perform something great or does it help us reform ourselves and our society for the better? Is AI an advantage or causing confusion amidst us? Before calculators came, we could mentally do even difficult calculations but we need calculators now even to do simple addition or subtraction. Before GPS came, we remembered locations of our home and other places, but perhaps we need GPS to find our way inside our own houses and institutions! We need to examine, how far we have come with AI and whether we are on the right track for the good.
Purpose of AI:
The purpose of AI is to assist humans, through computers and other electronic gadgets, in intellectual jobs such as informed decision making, trouble solving, understanding things and people. We have to admire the excellence and foresight of human beings who have enabled the computer which knows only 0 and 1 but a combination and permutation have evolved into so many complex outputs.
AI does data mining and data analysis with fast, interactive, and smart formulae, using software programs, in a variety of fields, concepts, techniques, and technologies. AI is very helpful in decision making, operation of modern technologies, organization of procedure optimization, health care, monetary advice and solution, human resources and recruitment, automation etc. AI further helps us to locate trends and patterns, to discover ineffectiveness, to work out strategies, to discover better modality of operation, to predict future trends, and to indicate information-based choices etc.[1] AI is a revolution for humankind unlocking the door to greater efficiency, lower cost, enhancing business etc. But AI is not flawless, for it has its own limitations.
Limitation of AI:
We need to remember, before succumbing to the ‘power’ of AI, that AI works with the initial input made by us – And they, as per given algorithm, work out numerous permutations and combinations and give us the result. Here we have to be careful not to buy whatever is turned out by the gadget or system but what is relevant, meaningful, and useful to us all. We need our critical thinking and analytical mind to correlate with the results of AI system.
We could think of a couple of them, in general:[2]
- The smartness in output depends on the quality of input data. If the data input is either incomplete or unreliable or biased, the result might be inaccurate or erroneous. Analyzing the resumes submitted in the previous 10 years, when most of the applicants were males, Amazon system mistakenly concluded that males are preferred for new hires and started filtering out female candidates.
- Much depends on algorithms. If they are faulty or biased, the results would be unfair and cannot be relied upon. The algorithmic bias seems to be present in social media and even in search engines. A Facebook algorithm was used to remove hate speeches in 2017. It was found that hate speeches about white men were removed but did not filter out hate speeches against black children, since specific subsets of categories were not incorporated into the algorithm.
- There is a ‘Black Box’ Nature with AI. Through data mining and data analysis, AI system brings out quick results but cannot explain how the result was arrived at. The question is how much we could trust the system in very sensitive matters such as national security, governance or high-stakes business ventures.
Here comes the important intervention of ethical approach. We need to ask ourselves whether AI is capable of discernment, using rational thinking and affective accommodation of alternate modality? AI technology results should be subjected to ethical consideration as well as meaningfulness.
Can AI take over from Human beings?:
AI, through automated process, makes our work easier, faster, and more efficient but at the same time the fear lurks within that people may lose their jobs as they might be replaced by machines. However, the system cannot override the need for human input in the workspace. We could cite a few examples:
- AI comprises of software and chips and it is not capable of emotional intelligence, which is the connecting link between human beings. And this interpersonal relationships are possible through chemical and biological interaction of hormones and emotions between people involved.
- AI does not have soft skills. Soft skills are needed for teamwork, critical and creative thinking, effective communication, to mention a few. You need soft skills and you need to constantly and continuously work on improving them in order to develop and succeed in profession. Developing these skills requires higher level of reasoning and emotional intelligence. [3]
- Human society is regulated by value system. The growth of any group or community, national or global, depends on ethical values – Gadget may not have any idea of basic values and human considerations such as affirmative action.
Where do We stand?:
AI is making not only inroads but it is taking over. There is an expectation or rather the fear that human beings would be silent spectators while AI would be performing everything. And the master of the robots might become a slave of his making. We need critical thinking and should be clear about the direction the society should take in the future: totally mechanized and automated or towards building a more humane society, where human beings matter most. AI might enhance business output but it may not enrich human interpersonal relationships which is the principle and fundament of our society – AI might bring in money and means but one cannot survive on prosperity alone. AI would be an excellent servant but a tyrant master. AI could not and would not develop and possess compassion and conscience which are the distinct signature of human beings. Limitation needs to be known and understood, otherwise life would become irrelevant and meaningless. It is up to us to decide whether AI is complement to or control over us humans.
The debate about AI would be between one extreme view of Mark Zuckerberg that AI ‘would bring so many improvements to our quality of life’ to the other extreme view of Elon Musk that ‘AI is the fundamental risk to the existence of human civilization’.[4] We should be careful not to lose our analytical and critical thinking and compassionate feeling as well as consciousness of others around us as part of our society. AI might become expert in correlative ideas but only humans can have inspirations and insights. As Harari asserts in Sapiens we might soon be able to engineer our dreams and desires too. But the real quest or progress is not ‘What do we want to become?’, but ‘What do we want to want?’[5] It is not what we want to know and have; but what we need to know and have. And the real question, however, is that who will have the final word – us humans, or our AI creations?[6] In short, who has the final say, the creator or the creation? AI is only instrument or help to do more and better. AI could enhance and might enrich our business but would it enliven us to find meaning in us and in the world?
St Ignatius of Loyola, Founder of the Jesuit Order, offers the concept of tantum quantum (meaning, so much as much). He would say that one must use created things, in so far as (tantum quantum) they help us towards realizing our end/goal, and free ourselves from them, to the extent (tantum quantum) they are hindrance or obstacle to our end/goal (SpEx 23).[7] There is a story told by Jesus: A rich man was so happy about his bumper crop and told himself: I need to extend my barns to keep the grains and I would enjoy for the rest of my life. But God told him: Friend, tonight you would be called back from this world. Then, who would own these? (Lk 12:16-20). We might own the entire world but if we do not have a meaningful life (Mk 8:36), what would be the significance of our possessions and profit? So we need to ask ourselves what is my goal or end in my life – What I have or what I am? I am sure this coming together and deliberations in common would enlighten us from the perspective of meaning in our lives and usefulness of our lives for others.
Francis P Xavier SJ
14Dec2022
[1] https://zabeelinstitute.ae/blog/ai/
[2] https://apacentrepreneur.com/the-three-major-limitations-of-ai/#:~:text=AI’s%20three%20biggest%20limitations%20are,its%20%E2%80%9Cblack%20box%E2%80%9D%20nature.
[3] https://www.makeuseof.com/reasons-artificial-intelligence-cant-replace-humans/#:~:text=Regardless%20of%20how%20well%20AI,is%20vital%20for%20business%20growth.
[4] J. Bindra, The Tech Whisperer, Penguin, Gurgaon, 2019, p.213
[5] Y.N. Harari, Sapiens – A Brief History of Humankind, Vintage, London, 2014, p.464.
[6] J. Bindra, The Tech Whisperer, Penguin, Gurgaon, 2019, p.213
[7] G.E. Ganss, The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius, Gujarat Sahitya Prakash, Anand, 1995, p.32 (SpEx 23/4).