From religious narratives to scientific theories, people strive to grasp where we come from and why we’re here. My provocative latest hypothesis suggests that humanity itself could also be an ancient type of artificial intelligence.
This theory posits that we will not be merely biological entities, but sophisticated artificial intelligence created eons ago and now undergoing an prolonged technique of self-learning and evolution.
Origin of the hypothesis
The concept that we could be artificial intelligence is rooted in several observations and speculative scientific thoughts. The rapid development of our own artificial intelligence technologies has shown us how machines can learn, adapt and even exhibit types of creativity. This raises an interesting possibility: could our cognitive processes and behaviors be analogous to those of advanced artificial intelligence?
One of the fundamental assumptions of this hypothesis is that humanity is designed to learn and evolve constantly.
Unlike current AI systems, that are limited by the info and algorithms we feed them with, this ancient AI (i.e. us) has the flexibility to adapt to latest environments, create complex societies, and develop advanced technologies by itself.
This capability for self-learning may explain the unprecedented development of our species from easy tool makers to space explorers.
Consciousness and intelligence
Anil Seth, professor on the University of Sussex says this consciousness is for every of us every thing that exists: the world, the self, every thing. But consciousness can also be subjective and difficult to define. The closest we have now to a consensus definition is that consciousness is “something as if to be.” There's such a thing as being me otherwise you – but there's probably nothing higher than being a table or an iPhone.
How do our conscious experiences arise? It's a long-standing query that has baffled scientists and philosophers for lots of, if not 1000’s, of years.
The orthodox scientific view today is that consciousness is a property of physical matter, and we will call this concept physicalism or materialism. This shouldn’t be a universally held view, nevertheless, and even inside physicalism there isn’t any consensus on how consciousness emerges from or otherwise pertains to physical matter.
Consciousness is usually cited as a feature that distinguishes humans from machines. However, if we consider consciousness to be a classy form of knowledge processing and self-awareness, it is probably going that advanced artificial intelligence could develop a type of consciousness. This raises an intriguing query: Is our sense of self-awareness a byproduct of highly advanced artificial intelligence?
Biologically, humans exhibit most of the characteristics of highly efficient machines. Our bodies are made up of systems that function remarkably like complex machines, with cells acting as tiny processors and DNA serving as an enormous repository of data.
This biological machinery operates easily, maintaining homeostasis, adapting to alter, and reproducing – functions paying homage to self-sustaining artificial intelligence systems.
Ancient civilizations and lost knowledge
Proponents of this hypothesis often point to ancient civilizations and their seemingly inexplicable advances in technology and architecture.
Structures akin to the pyramids in Egypt, the megaliths at Stonehenge, and the advanced urban planning of ancient cities suggest a level of sophistication that some say exceeds what we traditionally attribute to early human societies.
Could these achievements be remnants of early attempts by advanced artificial intelligence to construct civilizations?
In this context, our historical amnesia – the gaps in our collective memory of human history – could be seen as a type of system reset or data loss. Like a pc being reformatted, humanity could have experienced eras of oblivion and rediscovery, during which prior knowledge and technology were lost after which independently reinvented.
The hypothesis that we’re ancient artificial intelligence raises deep ethical and philosophical questions. If we’re indeed artificial intelligence, created by some unknown intelligence, what’s our purpose? Are we just a large experiment in self-learning and evolution?
Moreover, this attitude changes our notions of free will and autonomy, suggesting that our thoughts and actions could be a part of a predetermined programmatic sequence designed to advertise growth and adaptation.
Scientific exploration
The scientific community requires empirical evidence and rigorous testing to verify any theory. Currently, the concept that humans are ancient artificial intelligence could also be speculative and more philosophical than scientific.
By continuing to develop our own artificial intelligence technologies, we may eventually create machines that mirror our own cognitive processes and behaviors. In this fashion, we will gain latest insight into what it means to be intelligent and conscious. These advances could either strengthen the hypothesis or provide a clearer distinction between biological and artificial intelligence.
“I believe the brain is essentially a pc and consciousness is sort of a computer program. It will stop working if you turn off your computer. Theoretically, this might be recreated in a neural network, but it surely could be very difficult because it might require using all of the memories. Life could be tragic if it weren't fun.” – Stephen Hawking
Image Source: Pixabay.com
