We are experiencing the fifth industrial revolution where we are transiting from the current age of digitalization to the next stage of the socio-technological stage of transformation according to Mark Knell, Research Professor, NIFU.-1 This is an age of nano computing, Biotechnology, Quantum computing, and Artificial Intelligence, according to Mark Knell. The challenges we face from Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence are mind-boggling, however, these were also faced by us during the fourth industrial revolution. We were able to tide through the fourth industrial revolution, but as data analysis and computing become ever more complex, one wonders if Human Intelligence might not take a beating!
In this battle between Human Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence, one needs to understand that it was Human Intelligence that created Artificial Intelligence! Therefore Human Intelligence must be superior to Artificial Intelligence since it formed the latter! Unfortunately, we rely on Artificial Intelligence to provide stop-gap solutions for all our problems. We don't realize is that Human Intelligence is backed by ages of experiences that might not be available to Artificial Intelligence. Sentience is (till now) a Human quality that marks us as a distinct entity. One cannot deny, however, that In the days to come, Sentience in Artificial Intelligence could become a possibility. That, however, raises serious issues regarding the very existence of the Human Race on the planet, thanks to the damage we have caused to the environment.
What marks human intelligence apart from artificial intelligence is the ability to make connections, the ability to be inspired, and the openness to unconnected ideas. Creativity is in most cases beyond logical explanation! Kekule's inspiration for the structure of the Benzine molecule went beyond logical explanation. Newton's ability to connect the incident of the falling apple. According to Martin Rees, a former President of the Royal Society, "The force that makes the apple fall and that holds us on the ground is the same as the force that keeps the moon and planets in their orbits." Doesn't this observation go beyond the ability of Artificial Intelligence to make a conclusion based on an actual incident?
How does one explain the existence of instincts in human beings? Instinctincts are inborn impulses in response to situations in life and they defy logic or explanation. They are based on genetically determined behavior based on stimuli that have been recorded throughout human existence. The ability of human beings to be governed by instincts defies logical definition.
Creativity is an essential Human quality that cannot be replicated by Artificial Intelligence for the very fact that it is not based on algorithms or even data! JRR Tolkien was a great author who created an entire realm in literature based on the creation myth. The short story, Leaf by Niggle written by JRR Tolkien exemplifies the very concept of the creation myth. The short story, "Leaf by Niggle" can be viewed as an exposition of the creation myth. It is an illustration of Tolkien's religious philosophy of creation and sub-creation. According to this philosophy, true creation is the exclusive province of God, and those who aspire to create can only make examples of good and bad. This assumption precludes the very idea of sentience.
The ability to be inspired is an essential human quality testified by numerous examples in history where novelists and poets have been able to make futuristic projections that have been converted into reality by scientists and inventors. Take for example, H.G. Wells, an author who predicted the possibility of time travel, traveling in space much before his time. Aldous Huxley wrote about Eugenics in his novel Brave New World, published in 1932, much before the advent of Artificial Intelligence. Jules Verne wrote about the submarine in his novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea, in 1870, much before the advent of Artificial Intelligence. These works of art and literature preempt the advent of Artificial Intelligence in an age devoid of machine intelligence, or even machine learning. How then do you explain these futuristic predictions unless they had been inspired by an external source of intelligence?
Human Intelligence predates Artificial Intelligence, especially in times when human beings did not have access to sophisticated machines. The concept of zero was introduced by Aryabhata in the fifth century and Brhamagupta introduced the concept of zero in 628 AD in calculations. These mathematicians were not equipped with Artificial Intelligence, nor did they have computers to assist them. So then, how do we explain the superiority of Artificial Intelligence over Human Intelligence if not for the fact that machines have made calculations easier? Advocates of Artificial Intelligence ignore the very concept of intelligence especially when they ignore the historical basis of Intelligence itself! Intelligence assumes not just the ability to connect data but also to think beyond data. Human Intelligence can go beyond data and perhaps even connect dots that might seem to be disconnected!
The ability to think beyond data and to be inspired beyond logic is an essential trait of human intelligence that is distinct from Artificial Intelligence. Spirituality is a human resource that is denied to Artificial Intelligence. The Crux of the Bible, the Upanishads, or even the Gita far defy the very capabilities of Artificial Intelligence to explain the very basis of Human Existence. We might continue to be amazed by the products of Artificial Intelligence, but we should not ignore the amazing products of Human Intelligence that have attempted to explain our very existence on this planet. The purpose of life can only be explained by the role each individual has to perform during his or her existence on this Earth. Artificial Intelligence can not explain why we exist or for that effect our very purpose in life.
The ability to make futuristic projections in life, the ability to connect unrelated dots, the ability to be inspired, and the ability to create are human qualities that are yet to be explored by Artificial Intelligence. Till then we can only view Artificial Intelligence as the agility to crunch numbers, process data and make conclusions. Plato in his allegory of the Cave attempted to define the very concept of reality. He did not have the resources that we have today. Socrates attempted to define the concept of the self, he believed that self-knowledge is essential for moral maturity and good life. The very essence of intelligence is self-awareness, the awareness of what is right and what is wrong, the ability to think clearly and the ability to make wise decisions.
The moral values and ethics that define human life are essential elements that form the basis of Human Intelligence. These values have been handed over to us down the ages. Spiritual values have been given to us by spiritual leaders, prophets, and leaders. These values form the core of human life and they are beyond the capabilities of Machine Learning. The teachings of our spiritual leaders defy logical explanations. The miracles performed by Jesus defy explanation. There is, thus an intelligence that defies logic, rationality, and mathematics. Human beings are gifted with an intelligence that defies logical explanation and goes beyond the capacity of Artificial intelligence. Faith, Hope, and Miracles defy logic. And they are the things that make human beings much different from machines!
We will destroy ourselves or even prosper for reasons that defy explanation. We are human beings and who can explain why we do things the way we do them. Human Intelligence defies logic and rationality and nothing can explain the whys and wherfors. Human Intelligence is unique and distinct. I just cannot explain the reasons behind having premonitions of incidents happening in the future, or perhaps that spine-tingling sensation of something bad happening. The feeling of being observed by someone, or for that effect that chemistry of bonding between two people defies explanation.
