Transcending Limits: A Philosophical Hypothesis

A list of philosophical conundrums and analysis on what potential and possibilities does the future hold

All this hype surrounding ChatGPT, AI/AGI, Superintelligence etc, impelled me to revisit some of the Hollywood flicks from the past. One that came on top of my mind was the 2014 Sci-fi thriller Transcendence. It’s one of those films in this genre which I must say was quite rooted in reality. Now this isn’t a movie review though I must applaud all the fine actors and filmmakers who made this film believable. 

It raises several philosophical questions. Some of which are conceived due to the latest developments, while others have perplexed us for eternity. 

1. Who are we? Are we just an animate species made of flesh and bones or anything more than this.

2. Is matter everything there is? Is there anything beyond our perceptive capabilities?

3. Is there a thing called Consciousness or Soul? If there is one what are its origins?

4. Is Consciousness an epiphenomenon or fundamental?

5. Can we build a sentient machine supposing it becomes Superintelligent? In simpler words is there a connection between being intelligent and being conscious?

There are many versions of these questions always germinating in our minds.

But coming back to the theme pertaining to this movie. It has always been a common knowledge/assumption in the world of science that it is the brain that produces Consciousness. (I define this term here as an individual subjective experience and its usage in any other context isn’t applicable here). By doing so Consciousness can easily be reduced to some kind of a pattern of electrical signals. And thus implying that it is an emergent phenomena of neural impulses. 

In order to get a deeper understanding and a broader outlook it is necessary to expand the horizons of possibilities and dive deeper into all kinds of approaches available to understand this phenomena. True progress can only be made when the western scientific approaches are combined with the eastern philosophical approaches to the study of mind. Both have their own domains of excellence. It makes a whole lot of sense to view it from this perspective.

The other philosophical puzzle being showcased in the film is regarding Mind/Consciousness uploading. This case has its own set of dilemmas to be pondered upon. If there is a technological possibility to upload your Consciousness the main question that comes to our minds is who is it that is being uploaded. Is it the person as a whole in its live form recreated in a digital format? Or is it just a copy of the collection of its memories that can be simulated to give a false impression of a live human on silicon hardware? Does this mean we are nothing but a few bits of information? (Ok not few!) So should we conclude that information is the fundamental aspect of our universe? 

Apart from Consciousness, the other fundamental question that has intrigued philosophers and scientists for a long time is the nature of reality. In the modern context the question is rephrased as Do we live in Simulation?

Now both these are connected queries in this discussion. For the very reason that if we can digitise our Consciousness and upload it we can conclude that it is nothing but information. And if our Consciousness is reducible to information it certainly means that information is one of the most fundamental property of nature. (I can say this because I come from a school of thought that sides with the fact that Consciousness is the most fundamental thing that allows us to have a subjective first person experience). 

Now this creates a paradox. Whether Consciousness is fundamental or just bits of information. If information is fundamental then the consciousness is also a part of the simulation or the reality that we experience. This leads to a raw implication that we are mere zombies or characters in a game with certain powers assigned to us in the form of consciousness that just makes us feel a reality which isn’t real.

On the contrary if this Consciousness cannot be reduced to information the whole probability to upload it on a machine becomes zero. And if Consciousness is the most fundamental phenomenon this would upend the entire outlook of Science and the way it has been approached. Which could give rise to further set of questions. The most vital of them being: Is there an objective reality or we are merely experiencing everything within our Consciousness? Then how would we reconcile what we have learned and built through the use of objectivity in nature? These fundamental questions can only be answered once we come close to defining the true nature of Consciousness. 

Another perplexing question that comes to our minds is how does the knowledge of consciousness affect the state of AI progress. Does it have to be dependent on this? Can intelligence and consciousness be independent of each other? What if intelligence is the byproduct of Consciousness?

Does this also mean that AI can never become AGI or ASI (Superintelligent)? Here is where the distinction needs to be made between intelligence and sentience. There is no doubt that computers can achieve any task and way more efficiently than the smartest human can at the instructional level. But what we are mixing up here is that it need not have to be conscious to do that. It’s the processing capability (hardware) clubbed with ingenious algorithms (software) that conceive a whole new species that is insanely intelligent but need not be self aware. This is one of the ultimate specimen of

Biomimicry that humans have been building for ages, examples include Airplanes, automobiles etc. Though it might give an impression that it has all the properties to be called a Conscious being.

 

And then the last philosophical question that arises is the intentionality of the AI. If in case it becomes as intelligent as any other human and even exceeds our level of intelligence what makes us believe that it would turn against us or be an immensely empathetic machine. In other words would it be malevolent or a benevolent creation. 

In order to answer these questions we must first grasp this notion of volition. Does an AI have a freewill (Do we?)? It is important to ask this because every decision that we make or any task we initiate comes from our inner understanding and the will to respond in an autonomous fashion without any outside instruction. Without getting into this whole Freewill vs Determinism debate just for the sake of argument here we can say that it is our will in action that makes us do various things. 

(Although this whole equation would change if we bring in the idea of determinism and give it an equal probability).

And where there is will there is a Conscious attempt to execute that will. And this is what makes us take the control of our situations. So therefore, everything again boils down to Consciousness. So in my view it is absolutely futile to discuss the intent of an AGI/ASI until we become sure of what Consciousness is and we should not assume that it would be one only from the premise of being superintelligent.

Having stated that I must also posit that any creation or invention by our species has both upsides and pitfalls. Whether in this case Consciousness is an important condition or not an AGI can still turn out to be a malfunctioning construct and have devastating impact on our society unintentionally. To quote an example or two we can confirm what possibilities does a nuclear technology brings with it. And if we want to check out something in live action just rewind and take a look at the social media and its effects on our civilization. 

To conclude Transcendence serves as a thought-provoking exploration of the intricate relationship between consciousness, artificial intelligence, and the nature of reality.

And it acts as a great launchpad to ignite curiosity pertaining to some of the most pivotal conundrums of the true nature of reality and the self.