.....more to the point of whether to embrace AI or not, every step in human
evolution has had a pre-adaptive/exaptive step in the progression. Given
that, where does AI fit in? It doesn't, so to give in to it would be to
eventually segue into a silicon-based life form.

On Sat, May 19, 2018 at 7:53 AM, JOHN TORDAY <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hi Gregg, thanks for the additional materials to think about. As you know,
> I think that our conscousness/mind is the result of internalization of the
> environment on an ad hoc basis in order to remain in balance with it to
> survive. But if we are going to introduce artificial ways of thinking,
> which is a paradigm shift, how does that square with the arc of our
> evolution in synchrony with the 'natural' world.......seems like the two
> paradigms are at odds with one another, leading to that line in "2001, a
> Space Odyssey" when the computer says "I can not do that Hal". Seems to me
> AI should be a tool, not a lifestyle. As long as it is just adjunctive
> that's all to the better. But we both know that people are lazy, and will
> default to letting AI think for us. The brain's a muscle like any other,
> use it or lose it. Maybe we need to advocate for imaginative practices as a
> foil to autonomous thinking......what else are we going to be doing in our
> autonomous cars back and forth to work?
>
> On Sat, May 19, 2018 at 7:28 AM, Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx <
> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Hi John,
>>
>>
>>
>>   This is a good topic for discussion. From my vantage point on the ToK,
>> the wave of information technology is upon us and will evolve and will
>> change lots in the process.
>>
>>
>>
>>   My call is for deliberately reflecting on what is happening and to be
>> concerned with what is going to happen. That is, information technology is
>> going to launch us into another dimension of behavioral complexity. We must
>> seek to fuse that transformation with Wisdom (ala Waldemar’s comment).
>>
>>
>>
>>   In my frame, AI is analogous to but definitely not equivalent with
>> human understanding/knowing. We are organic/neuro/linguistic information
>> processors/communicators with experiential and self-conscious reason
>> giving/reflective capacities. Thus, I am in agreement with you here that
>> there are important differences.  I like John Searle’s Chinese Room
>> argument <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.iep.utm.edu_chineser_&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=HzJel2yCCT3LwdrB8p1WrnYmDwNDARGcS1ozb7U6jN4&s=wwunCgNXbaw2D0TY1Z0I8Yy9FEKEtdF4iAv5uaL0pmI&e=> as a starting point for
>> differentiating AI from human experience/consciousness/intelligence/understanding.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>   And, at the same time, I believe it is the case that our human minds
>> will be increasingly enmeshed with and in many ways fuse with artificial
>> intelligences going forward. This is already happening and nothing will
>> stop it (see here, The Future of the Mind
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.amazon.com_Future-2DMind-2DScientific-2DUnderstand-2DEnhance_dp_038553082X&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=HzJel2yCCT3LwdrB8p1WrnYmDwNDARGcS1ozb7U6jN4&s=zWSZFJLJERDFQPbC0dIPq0u9TbyHQ1MmPNlkFKy_AbQ&e=>).
>> It is simply too convenient, too enticing, too exciting for humans not to
>> invest in it.
>>
>>
>>
>>   For me, the question is: How can we dance wisely with the coming
>> information tsunami? (i.e., while maintaining human values/dignity).
>>
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Gregg
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* tree of knowledge system discussion [mailto:
>> [log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *JOHN TORDAY
>> *Sent:* Saturday, May 19, 2018 8:59 AM
>> *To:* [log in to unmask]
>> *Subject:* Re: two articles on technology and humanity
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear ToK Society, the Kissinger article on AI is particularly disturbing
>> because we don't understand how the mind works, yet we are willing to
>> delegate it to machine decision making. Most telling to me was when Watson,
>> the IBM AI computer competed against the two top Jeopardy players a while
>> back. The machine won handily, but flubbed a question because it didn't
>> 'parse' the difference between the U.S. and Canada. Watson missed one clue
>> by a country mile -- better make that an entire country. During a Final *Jeopardy!
>> *segment that included the "U.S. Cities" category, the clue was: "Its
>> largest airport was named for a World War II hero; its second-largest, for
>> a World War II battle."Watson responded "What is Toronto???," while
>> contestants Jennings and Rutter correctly answered Chicago -- for the
>> city's O'Hare and Midway airports". The reason for the error was because
>> the question was nuanced in a way that required thought, not merely
>> regurgitating facts. I submit that AI may be able to make up jokes based on
>> an algorithm, but will not be able to understand a joke because that
>> requires 'qualia', what David Chalmers refers to as 'knowing what we know'.
>> Subscribing to AI is what mathematicians refer to as 'regression to the
>> mean', or the gradual erosion of the quality of life. I'm thinking of the
>> U.S. instituting the Marshall Plan at the end of WWII. To AI, rewarding the
>> vanquished enemy would have been 'counterintuitive', yet we had learned
>> from our recriminations against Germany after WWI that they had
>> precipitated WWII, for example.
>>
>>
>>
>> I agree with Kissinger that we need to discuss the use of AI as a
>> Society, but maybe we could start on a smaller scale and discuss it in the
>> ToK Society?
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, May 17, 2018 at 12:02 PM, Henriques, Gregg - henriqgx <
>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> A central theme of this society is on how the human technology interface
>> is going to change the landscape and essence of our beings in the next 50
>> years. Here are two articles that highlight some of these issues. The first
>> is by Henry Kissinger on how the information age is changing who we are and
>> how we think. The second is on the molecular/protein nature of memories and
>> how they might be transferred from one brain to another.
>>
>>
>>
>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.theatlantic.com_magazine_archive_2018_06_henry-2D&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=HzJel2yCCT3LwdrB8p1WrnYmDwNDARGcS1ozb7U6jN4&s=wXG3CBhqOQxsUqMEtfLfv-eysF1l78LHclkMAeSvhdg&e=
>> kissinger-ai-could-mean-the-end-of-human-history/559124/
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.theatlantic.com_magazine_archive_2018_06_henry-2Dkissinger-2Dai-2Dcould-2Dmean-2Dthe-2Dend-2Dof-2Dhuman-2Dhistory_559124_&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=tWZ3NmpfyjLvdAnzUPsne9Si1v2-pQ5uJaK7uJh6jBE&s=soEHX9OQjepCim9z7eWz9MrWSvPXuEnu7rZ7OLKSQIU&e=>
>>
>>
>>
>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nytimes.com_2018_05_15_science_memory-2Dtransfer-2Dsnails.html&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=HzJel2yCCT3LwdrB8p1WrnYmDwNDARGcS1ozb7U6jN4&s=4tuvqMSPAcSHOAoSTDhH7aJHj2x4_TFFTgQB-q6TB3Y&e=
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.nytimes.com_2018_05_15_science_memory-2Dtransfer-2Dsnails.html&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=tWZ3NmpfyjLvdAnzUPsne9Si1v2-pQ5uJaK7uJh6jBE&s=iGcYTQY2OWLkZmHh65vstK5_FpbYgEPq_n1uXRzitXc&e=>
>>
>>
>>
>> Happy reading J.
>>
>> G
>>
>>
>>
>> ___________________________________________
>>
>> Gregg Henriques, Ph.D.
>> Professor
>> Department of Graduate Psychology
>> 216 Johnston Hall
>> MSC 7401
>> James Madison University
>> Harrisonburg, VA 22807
>> (540) 568-7857 (phone)
>> (540) 568-4747 (fax)
>>
>>
>> *Be that which enhances dignity and well-being with integrity.*
>>
>> Check out my Theory of Knowledge blog at Psychology Today at:
>>
>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.psychologytoday.com_blog_theory-2Dknowledge&d=DwIFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=HzJel2yCCT3LwdrB8p1WrnYmDwNDARGcS1ozb7U6jN4&s=sc0XO3HCJbj2BxQPKNW0QZeq8VB6LqTn2JAWFBFAvsM&e=
>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.psychologytoday.com_blog_theory-2Dknowledge&d=DwMFaQ&c=eLbWYnpnzycBCgmb7vCI4uqNEB9RSjOdn_5nBEmmeq0&r=HPo1IXYDhKClogP-UOpybo6Cfxxz-jIYBgjO2gOz4-A&m=tWZ3NmpfyjLvdAnzUPsne9Si1v2-pQ5uJaK7uJh6jBE&s=ADDmQm64kUxHbXljy3-rHf_ieiKWjLx4oPI6LU8lLK4&e=>
>>
>>
>>
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