Artificial Intelligence and Our Purpose in Society

I discovered this chart the other day while scrolling through Twitter. At a glance, one might pause in reflection and reassure themselves that they only use social media in a positive way.  Like most, the use of social media pervades my social life and that of those who I surround myself with. Because of the culture surrounding it, along with the time commitment it takes to keep up on all of the various platforms, most people believe that they could easily give up these platforms if they had too.  Most aim to feel as though they have control over how social media affects them, but regardless, the deteriorating effects of these sites can still be felt.  

No matter what take you as an individual have on the use of social media, we as a society are the ones being used. These platforms are algorithmic trained artificial intelligence that decide what we see and spend our time on. No matter where you fall on the chart, you are still being manipulated by artificial intelligence.  This poses the question: as humans, what is  our purpose in society now that artificial intelligence has entered the picture? 

We already have Google giving their a.i. expertise to the US military drone program and Chinese citizens being closely monitored with the use of facial recognition a.i. … this is literally becoming a black mirror episode. Lets not forget about social media dominating the majority of discretionary time. Next thing you know we are going to have WestWorld like amusement parks or simulated realities where we can choose to live forever. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I am ready for all of this… I am just starting to realize my true purpose in this world as I am only 22 years old.

When homo sapiens first graced the earth ( around 2 million years ago) our roles were, for the most part, biological: to mate and expand territory. Our hunter gatherer ancestors were not afforded the variety of lifestyle choices that are available today, they had to focus predominantly on survival. 

If we jump from the time of the first humans to about 12,000 years ago,  we can see the first civilizations begin to develop. Agriculture, domestication of animals, and the development of communities all began during this period, one where our purpose was to contribute to the development of these newly formed societies. The end goal of this was still survival - these small communities aimed for  the expansion and prosperity of future generations. Roles were generally  assigned  by society according to gender, stature or ancestry in order to keep everyone fed and safe. 

Jumping again to present day, human life has deviated almost entirely from our early ancestors. At least 8/9ths of the human population has enough food to actively live healthy lives. Our societies have become sustainable for humans to live in safety (for the most part) due to law enforcements across the world and universal laws against crime. Society provides a significant crutch for survival, which has allowed for a shift in human purpose.  Humanity is less focused on survival and more focused on careers and monetary success.

This shift is not free of disturbances. It has led to health problems for many, with social media distancing us from reality. As with any paradigm shift, those who have adjusted and found purpose in new roles are fairing relatively well. 

Things are, however,  already starting to shift again. This time, we the people,  have enough information to be aware that something is happening thanks the unlimited knowledge on the web. Automation has begun to take jobs- something that casts an ominous shadow over those working in replaceable employment. As automation quickly develops, we are starting to see more and more careers become automated. Once again, we are being forced to find new purpose and roles.

I personally have watched countless videos, documentaries, and  books on the role that artificial intelligence could play in society. Like most, I am both excited and scared. The possibilities to eradicate disease such as cancer, build better infrastructure, solve more mysteries, and improve the quality of life is the optimistic perspective. Killer robots, machine warfare, judgement day, the next step in evolution, and job loss are a few of the more negative attributes of a future as seen through a pessimistic lens. These possibilities generate infinite questions, however I am going to focus on one: where do we find purpose and roles in society when the machines have taken that from us? 

This  fundamental question should be present in our minds as we move further into the realm of a.i. Biological human behavior is not easy to rewire. We aren’t robots. We need to proceed with caution, looking at the past and how major shifts in society have both positively and negatively affected our human psyche and physical health. Forget economic growth, interplanetary takeover, and our innate curiosity - we need to start figuring out if we as a society are ready for such immeasurable changes.  We are headed down a path that could become irreversible. 

Yet, even with all of the exciting (and terrifying) new developments that are taking place globally,  I feel as though things are becoming more clear. Globalization has allowed for humanity on a personal level that was previously thought to have been impossible, and as a result, I believe that our purpose is reverting back to our roots: to help one another. Historically speaking, a majority of if not all great accomplishments  have been due to a group of people working hard to make something happen. Selfishness is not the way. The sooner we start to realize that we are all interconnected the sooner we will find the answers concerning our role alongside technology.

source on human consumption statistic: 

http://www1.wfp.org/zero-hunger