Artificial intelligence defies human or so-called natural intelligence. Civilization is built on the very idea of intelligence: what we have been able to build over the centuries has been the continuity of the transmission of intelligence through language, whether oral or written, from generation to generation. Anthropocentrism (the idea that the world somehow revolves around man) is partly justified by the superior intelligence of humans in the animal kingdom. But what about today, when certain artificial intelligences (GPT 4 Chat) are on average more intelligent than half the population of a country like France?
The Race For Intelligence Is Lost, If Not Already Lost
AI’s cognitive prowess is exponential. Human beings, on the other hand, develop linearly and infinitesimally between generations. When we talk about AI, we’re talking primarily about logicomathematical intelligence, but also linguistic intelligence (as demonstrated by Chat GPT). The more time goes by, the more we realize that AI now includes emotional intelligence (interpersonal for the moment, perhaps intrapersonal in the future) and visuo-spatial intelligence (in the manner of Mid-Journey). We’re outmatched on all sides, and that’s only going to get worse over time. AI understands us better than we understand ourselves, and that’s what’s most disturbing. How can we continue to rank the world and its creatures according to intelligence when man is no longer at the top of the pyramid?
Man Is Not His Intelligence
If many of us define ourselves by our work and the intellectual demands it makes, this identity will disappear over time. We will identify less and less with our cognitive abilities, as machines will be clearly above us. What will define us then?
Becoming Aware Of The Limits Of Our Intelligence
I’ve come to realize that I’m not as intelligent as I thought. Perhaps that’s the characteristic of stupidity: it ignores itself. In his book La guerre des intelligences, Dr. Laurent Alexandre points out that the majority of inequalities at school are genetic, contrary to what Bourdieu had previously stated, even if environmental stimulation can be favorable to brains with proven neuroplasticity. Differences in IQ are above all differences in neuroplasticity. These same differences tend – counter-intuitively – to accentuate over time: the intellectual stimulation offered by the passage of time (travel, work, relationships, etc.) will not be able to cancel out the genetic inequalities at the outset. Edifying. This information may explain certain trajectories. Although anecdotal and somewhat painful for the pride, the realization of our relative stupidity will spread until it becomes collective. We’ll be more and more stupid compared to artificial intelligences, and the gap will become more and more glaring. This pain will not only be narcissistic, it will become existential. It’s the same intellectual supremacy that justified unscrupulous animal exploitation and consumption. How, then, can we guarantee our serene survival in an age when we cohabit with systems far more intelligent than the average human on the planet?
Are We Heading For A Moral Reset?
As we’ve seen, all our previous beliefs about intelligence and who we are are being challenged by AI. We may not realize it, but we have already entered an era of transition. Competition between humans and machines has not yet ceased. There will be new ways of remaining competitive with AI in terms of intelligence, but they will shatter taboos: eugenics and transhumanism. Eugenics was unanimously and outspokenly condemned in the wake of the European and especially German fascisms of the 20th century. Transhumanism, on the other hand, is relatively new and has not undergone mass experimentation due to a lack of expertise in the field. Nonetheless, it remains an ethically questionable theme, as it blurs the boundaries of our definition of humanity. As a reminder, transhumanism aims to increase human capacities, whether physical or intellectual, through the use of technology. To put it simply, it’s an intellectual movement in favor of the advent of cyborg men and women.
Ai Is A New Opportunity To Define Ourselves
Man once defined himself as a soul in a body endowed with intelligence. As time went by, we discovered our ability to modify our environment (a fortiori our intelligence), and so we somewhat forgot our spiritual dimension. AI forces us to define ourselves as more than a being endowed with reason; we are once again a soul, where AI has yet to prove its worth.
The Probable Return Of The Spiritual
The 21st century will be spiritual or it won’t be. André Malraux
This prediction is likely to prove correct. Today’s geopolitical world is already showing us the signs of this prophecy, through no fault of AI’s own. Once AI has made its massive and profound entry into our lives, the spiritual realm will doubtless remain one of man’s last bastions, unless it in turn becomes monopolized by AIs, who would become goddesses worshipped as much as Egyptian divinities in the time of the Pharaohs.
