AI Could Alter Human Identity

In a surprising twist, The Age of AI, a book co-written by one of the godfathers of modern imperialistic power, isn’t even at its strangest when speaking about war. The book actually takes a much bigger swing (or, maybe for some, a larger leap) when talking about how the as-yet-undefined “AI” will alter human interaction the authors argue AI will continue to insert itself deeper and deeper into everyday human lives and that it will increasingly make decisions based off of complex data that mortals simply can’t fathom. (Among other things, the authors use the example of DeepMind’s AlphaGo which managed to beat human champions at the notoriously complex board game Go using a move never before conceived by humans).

This backdrop, the authors argue, will create a world where only a handful of highly trained elite engineers have any real understanding of how AI works, while AI meanwhile increasingly runs the shots and dictates life for the wandering masses.

“Some people, particularly those who understand AI, may find this world intelligible,” the book reads. “Others, greater in number, may not understand why AI does what it does, diminishing their sense of autonomy and their ability to ascribe meaning to the world.”

Put more dramatically, the authors argue the outcome of AI, “will be an alternation of human identity and the human experience at levels not experienced since the dawn of the modern age.” In other words, yes we are entering the cool zone.