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RabidHexley t1_j5oeiqg wrote

Reply to comment by LeIAmNeeson in Can humanity find purpose in a world where AI is more capable than humans? by IamDonya

I'm sorry. I get what you're saying, and it may apply to some people, but I really don't think it does to many. And I don't see why saying otherwise makes someone an asshole. This also is an unnecessarily depressing post.

A key point here is what is "useless" or "worthless", in terms of a human. In the current world we already have to accept that for 99.99% of us what we do could easily be accomplished by one of the other millions and billions of people on this planet. How different is an AI in this regard?

Everything that I personally get joy from in life, I have literally zero care if an AI is able to do it better, I'm still getting something out of it. And I'm not talking about hedonistic pleasures, I'm talking about genuine pursuits and passions. The only thing I care about is having the freedom to pursue those passions, not a need to express my unique ability as a human to perform a task.

AI doing what I can do better doesn't take away my desire to explore, to experience life, to enjoy the world and the people around me, to enjoy creating for its own sake (and not in an attempt to be the "best" at it).

We already have planes and cars, we already have computers that can realistically simulate virtuosic instrumental playing with programming, we have weapons that have invalidated human strength, massive machines that cultivate our food.

The domain of human superiority has already shrunk by magnitudes, but people still keep being humans.

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LeIAmNeeson t1_j5oi4v2 wrote

Actually I agree with you, that maybe this post doesn't apply for everyone, or even most people. It seems like there is a difference in psychology, maybe philosophy. And I appreciate the honest critique.

But it is honestly saddening to think that many people think that way. In my opinion, kids should be raised to believe that they can achieve anything if they work hard enough at it. Even if you aren't the smartest or the most athletic, people can still accomplish incredible things.

Yes, there will probably always be someone else out there is better at most things. But that's not what it's about. Life is about living your life to the fullest and trying to accomplish something truly great in each moment. Even something as simple as helping someone out, after you've had an exhausting day at work. You can accomplish something remarkable in that moment by pushing through with a smile on your face.

As for technology already overtaking us, that is simply not true. Technology has always been something that extended the reach of humans, not overstepped us. Cars allow us to travel faster, electricity allows us greater power, computers increase our intelligence. But those things always amplified human action and thought. Now with artificial intelligence, we face a technology that will indeed replace us.

And last point. Once the singularity comes, you will not be able to continue doing what makes you happy. That is not how the Universe or evolution works. Once there is a dominant species in a system, whether it takes 5, or 10, or 50 years, eventually the superior being won't just keep us humans alive out of love or pity or something. No - it will do what life does best and fully embrace the life it has been given to explore and create and accomplish whatever it's nature desires.

P.S. the reason I called other people assholes is because they are claiming that life has no purpose. That's just something that I disagree with wholeheartedly. It's a lot easier to be skeptical in life than to be someone with hope and optimism. It takes effort to imagine that we are here for a reason, and that humans are not just a speck in the mud.

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RabidHexley t1_j5onv6d wrote

My interpretation of "life has no purpose" is that we make our own purpose. There is no prescribed purpose native to the universe in an of itself, we make it. As the world changes around us we change the things we find purpose in, a lot of that being a means of adapting to the lives we live (whether we chose to live that life or not).

My point about technology overtaking us is that humans still partake in activities that could objectively be performed better or far more easily through the assistance of machines. We willingly forgo machine assistance in pursuit of a lived experience.

Just look at /r/mightyharvest. These folks aren't providing for anyone from the fruits of their labor, and practically speaking a small home garden for produce is inefficient to the highest degree, but joy is still found from the mere pursuit. Should they instead use that time to try and become doctors, scientists, athletes or paradigm shifting artists of renown? Would that be a truer pursuit of purpose?

This kind of stuff wouldn't go anywhere.

AI won't replace our experience of life, nothing can. What it can do is hopefully create a future in which more people can choose what they want their purpose to be based on the life they want to live.

Edit: The problem with AI art for instance isn't that it replaces artists. It's that it makes it economically less feasible to be an artist, because it's harder to use your art to provide for yourself. It's not because it makes replaces the human desire to create art.

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LeIAmNeeson t1_j5or9dn wrote

Very well spoken. I'm having a hard time putting my finger on exactly what the differences are between each of our arguments, but I think we share more in common than it might seem.

In response to r/mightharvest, it seems like we both see that there is a sort of simple and poetic beauty in the undertaking of an activity like that. Where there is no possibility for eventual payoff, just the pleasure of being in tune with nature.

I was atheist for basically my whole life (29 years), and it always seemed like the Universe was a cold, lifeless, desolate place, and that life on Earth was just an anomaly. That is what science and logic seems to show. But that viewpoint has changed for me over the last few years. It might sound phoney, but my thinking has genuinely shifted to a place where atheism no longer makes sense to me. Going back to my first comment, the odds just seem so incredibly small that we just happen to be lucky enough to be alive as humans right now and that it's all just a near-infinitesimally small coincidence.

It feels like we truly do matter and we have purpose beyond simply what we happen to imagine up for ourselves (even though I agree that is an innate feature of humans). It feels bigger than coincidence that we happen to be alive at exactly the moment of the singularity and the climate crisis. When everything seems to be converging together all at once.

Anyways, sorry to ramble, but at this point the difference between our arguments is simply opinion. There aren't any flaws in logic, just a difference in worldview.

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