155 | Transcending AI

Transcend Human
Written By Daryl McMullen
 
 

March 20, 2023

Minute of Transparency: The Gen X Experience

Today's Topic: Transcending AI

  1. Leave it to Hollywood

  2. Hollywood Informs Reality

  3. The Future Looks Intense

// CHAPTER 1: LEAVE IT TO HOLLYWOOD

Let me start by saying that I'm in no way an expert on AI.

I do work in the tech industry. I do work with a team that builds website and web applications. And yes - we are researching ways to incorporate AI into our products.

But no - I don't fully understand it. Because it's the wild wild west.

AI isn't a product. And it's not a platform. It's a leap forward in technology and computing power that can be used to do just about anything we dream up.

We'll talk more about that in Chapter 2. But let's start at the beginning. Before any of this even existed.

Before we even had fast computers. Before we even had the Internet.

What we did have was creativity. And imagination.

Long before things were even possible - we had people telling us they would be someday.

I called this Chapter "Leave it to Hollywood" because many of our earliest memories of technology came from the movies.

But it wasn't limited to the movies. We had books, plays, television shows and even art - all showing us a picture of what life could be like someday.

So let's start with some of those:

  • Books: According to BusinessInsider.com - Here are 15 books that predicted the future:

    • Gulliver's Travels predicted that Mars had two moons

    • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein predicted that organs would someday be transplanted

    • 20,000 League's Under the Sea predicted the electric submarine

    • Looking Backward predicted credit cards

    • Ralph 124C 41+ predicted solar power

    • The World Set Free predicted the atomic bomb

    • Brave New World predicted mood-busting pills

    • One that we all probably had to read in high School - 1984 - predicted Big Brother and mass surveillance

    • Fahrenheit 451 predicted ear buds

    • Stranger in a Strange Land predicted the waterbed

    • 2001: A Space Odyssey predicted the iPad

    • Stand on Zanzibar predicted satellite TV and electric cars

    • Cyborg predicted the first bionic limb

    • The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy predicted audio translating Apps

    • Neuromancer predicted cyberspace and computer hackers

  • TV Shows: There are thousands to be sure - but let's just look at a few good examples:

    • The Jetsons:

      • If you are a product of the 80s like me - Gen X through and through

      • You remember the animated show called The Jetsons

      • It was a cartoon set in the future - and much of the technology in the show was predictive of what we have today

      • I found a NY Post articled called "What 'The Jetsons' predicted right - and wrong - about the future:"

        • They were right about the "video phone" - today we have Zoom

        • They were right about technology helping us clean - think about the Roomba

        • The show described flat TVs

        • Drones

        • Watches like Apple Watch

        • Things that haven't fully come true:

          • Fully functioning maid robots

          • Breakfast made at the push of a button

          • Automated hygiene machines

          • Fully self driving cars

          • And flying cars

          • Though it's not hard to see that we're working as fast as possible on some of these

    • Star Trek: Probably one of the best examples:

      • According to an article from ScreenRant.com - here are 10 things Star Trek predicted:

        • Touch screen monitors

        • Google Glass - computers built into glasses

        • Voice activation - things like Siri and Alexa were built into the ship

        • Tablets like the iPad

        • Virtual reality - the Holodeck was a room where you could program a simulated environment to be whatever you wanted

        • Synthetic substances - like synthetic meat and synthetic alcohol

        • 3D printing

        • Universal translator devices

        • Video chatting

        • Bluetooth earpieces

    • And those are just two of the many television shows that described the future for us

  • And then there are the Movies: Too many to count...

    • According to MovieWeb.com - here are 6 that seemed to predict the future:

      • Running Man - seemed to predict humankind's addiction to violence and reality television

      • Demolition Man - eerily predicted social distancing due to dangerous viruses

      • Star Trek - the motion picture - seemed to predict technology in the ways we described above

      • Blade Runner - predicted advanced technology, flying cars and digital advertisements all over the place

      • The Terminator - predicts a dystopian world ruled by the very technology we created

      • The Truman Show - predicted the way television would impact the human experience - and started the reality tv trend

    • But I can't leave this section without mentioning movies that took real science and predicted that into the future: According to Collider.com:

      • Woman In the Moon - almost 100 years old - predicted travel to the moon due to greed

      • Alien - suggested that someday there would be normal space travel

      • Ant Man - Interestingly enough - based on quantum physics

      • Contact - based on the science of SETI - listening for messages from outer space and the potential existence of extra-terrestrial life

      • Minority Report - Building on the science behind precognition, or psychic abilities

      • 2001: A Space Odyssey - Based on the book we already mentioned - and remains very loyal to the science of space we understand today

      • Gattaca - Based on the science behind DNA mapping, and the ethical vs. unethical use of this knowledge

      • Arrival - Used the science of linguistics to help humans interact with an unknown visitor to Earth

      • Interstellar - Based on the science of global warming, the possibility of leaving our planet, and theoretical concepts like wormholes, and time dilation

      • The Martian - An epic story that captures the science of space and the atmosphere of Mars in order to tell a captivating story

    • I'm a little irritated that this writer didn't include Jurassic Park:

      • To me this is one of the best all time movies that takes current medical science - and projects it to a logical conclusion

      • The ability to extract Dinosaur DNA, clone it and then recreate an extinct species from there

      • Michael Crichton is one of my favorite authors for this very reason

      • And more recently I've  found A.G. Riddle - a similar author - following in those big footsteps

So there you go - numerous examples of art creating reality.

Humans thinking stuff up - stuff that at times becomes a reality years later.

To many of these writers - the technology they were envisioning made life better. To some - it was the technology that created the dystopian society. Or led to our downfall.

Now I know - I've drifted a bit from the topic I want to cover today. Which is AI.

A lot of the books, tv shows and movies I described aren't specifically about AI. Many of them are about technology in general. Science Fiction that either involves cutting edge science, science we don't fully understand, or science that doesn't exist yet.

But AI is one of those things:

  • For example - In Star Trek - the Enterprise had to run on AI to some level. You can't have a computer making recommendations to the captain, or a Holodeck for that matter without the computer accessing AI within it's programming. Many times when the captain talked to the computer - it was like he was having a conversation with another person

  • In Star Wars - it was blatant - R2 d2, Bb-8, and Droids like C-3PO were all robotic characters with the ability to think, and carry on conversations. This requires AI - obviously...

  • In The Terminator - it was AI that became sentient - and determined that in order to live - it had to eradicate humans

Now - before we move to Chapter 2 there is one other thing I want to bring up. Because it's right in the middle. Not 100% human and not 100% technology.

It's this concept of "transhumanism." Not to be confused with trans humans - people wanting to transition from one gender to another.

Transhumanism is combining our humanity with technology. According to an article by Forbes.com Transhumanism is, or will cause the following:

  • Body augmentation:

    • Wearing things that enhance our human abilities

    • Things like digital contact lenses that can take picture or video

    • Ear buds that allow us to understand any language spoken

    • Exosuits that improve strength

    • Digital implants

    • Biological augmentation - potentially removing unwanted things in your system like cancer and other diseases

  • Mental augmentation:

    • Or, thought processes that are faster and more transferrable

    • BMIs or Brain Machine Interfaces - still technology we see in movies - but with the dramatic changes we've seen in AI - that much closer to becoming reality

  • Gamification:

    • Using behavioral science to encourage participation and engagement

    • Using this to increase productivity in the workplace

  • Developing empathy:

    • A positive result of this technology is to be able to see the plight of others via VR headsets - which this author suggests will increase our ability to see the plight of others

    • Great idea - but only positive if you're willing to be open to it

  • Extreme personalization and customization:

    • Due to this technology - we will be able to live a life 100% to our own desires and interests

    • And it can be 99.9% different than a person standing right next to us

  • Changes in business practices:

    • Increased use of AI at work

    • BMI use to increase security

    • Possibly encouraging the use of implants and neurostimulation in order to get increased productivity out of employees

  • Increased focus on human value:

    • As AI slowly takes over - and we aren't as important

    • We will begin to wrestle with our value

    • What makes us important - what makes us unique and useful

Now - that was a slight tangent - but surely you can see how it fits into our conversation.

In Star Trek there was a race of people called The Borg:

  • They were a species of Cyborg

  • Cybernetic Humanoids

  • Part human and part computer - or mechanical device

  • They existed as a unit - or what's called a hive mind

  • Each singular drone was part of the greater collective

  • So each acted in concert with the greater goal in mind

Again - Hollywood right? Creative people creating characters for their movies. In this case an entire race of characters from a distant planet - searching the known universe in order to absorb any and all technology into their collective - even if that meant destroying every other race in their path.

A movie example of transhumanism. But not so far off based on the direction we're heading. It's like we're wanting to go down the same exact road as The Borg - only we would never go that far - right?

I mean hive mind? Basically becoming robots for a greater cause? No... That would never happen... We're too smart for that...

// CHAPTER 2: HOLLYWOOD INFORMS REALITY

So we just discussed numerous examples of creative works predicting, or suggesting technology that didn't exist at the time.

Some of those examples were based on technology or science that was in it's infancy. Like Jurassic Park for example.

And some of it, like Star Trek was so far ahead of its time - they didn't even have scientific examples to work from. It literally came out of their heads and onto the screen.

But here's my working theory: I believe Hollywood drives technology.

And not just Hollywood - like I said - creative, and innovative people. Writers, artists, Producers, Directors.

These amazing people think things up - and then scientists come along and try to make them happen.

Now - I know - that's a loaded statement. And I'm sure it isn't a one for one. It doesn't always follow that path.

But hear me out.

What if this happens more often than we think?

  • A writer described how humankind got to the moon - so scientists eventually decided they would see if they could make it happen

  • A TV show suggested you could get an entire computer into one small tablet with a touchscreen - and Apple created the iPad

  • A movie showed humans interacting with computers by asking them questions - and Siri and Alexa were a logical result

And I could go on and on. The basic question here is this: Where do our products come from? Where does out technology come from?

Ultimately it come from our minds. From ideas that pop into our heads. And when we have these ideas - what's the first thing we do with them? We want to write them down - we want to flesh them out in a way that gets them out into the world.

Maybe it's by writing a book - or making a movie. If you don't have the background in science or technology to make it happen in real life - you can at least bring it to life through an art form you do understand.

It follows that a scientist, or someone who understands technology would be able to take their ideas and try to make them a reality. Or, if you're low on your own ideas - maybe you start pulling other peoples ideas? Ideas you read in a book - or saw in a movie once.

Don't believe me? Well this might help get you there. Did you know that they have been trying to build a functioning hoverboard ever since Marty McFly rode one in Back to the Future 2 in 1989?

Why you ask? Do we need hoverboards?

The answer is an obvious No! We don't need hoverboards! We have electric skateboards now - and electric bikes that go 30mph!

We don't need hoverboards! So why are they trying so hard to develop one?

Because they can. Because they want to prove to themselves that they can figure out the hoverboard riddle with our science and technology.

And that's my working theory.

That people have ideas. They write them down. Or make a movie about them. And eventually someone thinks, "Wow, I wonder if we could actually make that happen?"

And so they try. And often succeed.

// CHAPTER 3: THE FUTURE LOOKS INTENSE

Now, I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume we're all on the same page right about now? Are you with me so far?

We have looked at the past. We've looked at Sci fi books and movies that seem to predict a certain future. And we've seen how many of these things have become reality over time.

We've actually made science fiction into real science in many ways.

And many of these inventions, or advances in technology rely on two things:

  • Hardware

  • Software

Now - I find this fascinating for many reasons - not the least of which is that it matches up pretty well with the way we're formed as humans:

  • Our body is the hardware

  • And our mind is the software

  • The two things work together to create a living being

And so it is with advances in technology.

It's the software that keeps getting smarter and smarter. But there has to be hardware in order for it to mean anything.

For example - you can create the most amazing automatic vacuum software for the Roomba - but without the actual, physical vacuum part - it's a waste of time. The software has no meaning - no reason for existing.

We see this combination in so many ways these days:

  • Smart TVs

  • Cars with crash and lane detection

  • You computer, tablet and phone 

  • Smart home devices like thermostats, door locks, video doorbells, lights, appliances

  • All of these things have a hardware component - and increasingly complex software to make them work

Every year new things are released that up the game - and make our lives easier.

But for the most part - these fell into one category:

  • Quality of life add ons

  • Things that we could use to make life easier

  • Get things done faster

  • Take boring tasks off our plates

  • Entertain us

  • Keep us safe

  • etc.

Notice that all of these are outside things - things that provide us help with tasks or responsibilities.

But AI is a whole new thing. Because it starts to overlap with our very humanity. The thing that makes us unique. Our intelligence - our ability to think for ourselves.

Most of the technology we've discussed so far simply performs a task. A Smart TV is is one that is connected to the Internet - and gives us the ability to open Apps, and search for content to watch. But we're the ones doing the directing.   

But AI crosses into that realm and offers to think for us.

For example - when I ask Siri what the square root of 81 is - I'm asking Siri to think for me.

Siri is built on AI. Yes, it was programmed to access databases with specific types of information - but it is also programmed to pick what it thinks is the right answer. To base its decisions off of thousands of previous searches and questions - and the answers that people have flagged as right.

Then if it can't figure it out - it's programmed to search the Internet for keywords in your question.

But this is the most basic use of AI. Apple may get butt hurt hearing me say that - but all I have to do is look at the emerging technology built off AI platforms and basic search and question answering seems old.

Today you have people working on robot technology - trying as hard as they can to take their AI software and add it to a fully functioning robot with the ability to walk, talk and move.

These scientists are moving in a very obvious direction - trying to recreate us - trying to copy what we are - just with hardware and AI software.

How do we know this? Just do a Google Search for "Best humanoid robot" and you'll get a good overview of the progress there...

Again - in this field of research - they are making advancements in two ways:

  • The hardware - attempting to duplicate the look of a human right down to facial expression

  • And the AI software to run the machine - both the movements and facial expressions - but also to the personality and ability to communicate

When you're working on the AI side - and mainly the personality and communication side you don't technically need the robot. The AI software can be created and worked with on a computer.

As was the case in the following situation:

Blake Lemoine was a programmer for Google - and worked on the Google chatbot project called LaMDA.

At some point he believed that the chatbot had become sentient - meaning it had become aware of itself - and was able to process and feel things.

Based on his own personal beliefs - it made him question the project and whether they were doing the right thing in creating the technology.

Lemoine was eventually let go from the project because he had leaked corporate information about LaMDA.

At this time there is no resolution to the question Lemoine posed. Google's official statement is that Lemoine was clearly wrong about LaMDA. that is, "...simply a complex algorithm designed to generate convincing human language."

Now these are the crazy stories related to AI - because they are the most in your face. I mean how crazy would it be to have a robot walk up to you and ask you your name?

That's like the pinnacle of AI to me.

But before you let that cloud your thinking - let's finish up with the meat of it. The heart of AI - and the many ways it is being incorporated into software that will forever change the world we live in.

SimpliLearn.com has an article called:  AI Applications: Top 18 Artificial Intelligence Applications in 2023

I'm not going to walk through them because it's pretty intense and there's a lot of technical jargon. But my takeaway - AI is being used everywhere...

Moving on...

Let's go back to Google for a minute - because they just announced a whole list of new AI features that will be added to Google Workspace:

According to TheVerge.com - here are some things AI will be doing within Google Workspace:

  • Things like drafting, replying and summarizing emails

  • Proofreading

  • Rewriting docs for you

  • Autogenerating images, video and audio

  • Creating formulas for you in sheets

  • Capturing notes for you in Google Meet

  • etc.

Now - keep in mind these are just things they're adding to Google Workspace.

But a couple of the items on this list are important to our conversation:

  • The ability to generate content based on a prompt

  • The ability to create images from a prompt

  • The ability to generate an audio file for you - with your voice

  • The ability to generate video content based on a prompt

These interest me - because they aren't just something Google thought up for Google Workspace.

There are companies, and platforms behind each of these technologies - working hard to move them forward.

For example:

  • ChatGPT: https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt

    • Conversational AI platform

    • Can pass exams

    • Write full length articles

    • Develop code in every programing language

    • Ask it to create something for you and it will

      • Write me a blog post on climate change...

      • Create a cover letter for a React Developer position at this company...

  • Jasper: https://www.jasper.ai/

    • Image creation based on AI

    • Give the platform a few keywords and watch images come to life based on those words

  • Overdub: https://www.descript.com/overdub

    • Realistic voice cloning

    • Speak into the mic for a while and the AI engine will memorize your voice

    • Use it to playback written text

  • Video generators like Pictory and Synthesia: https://www.unite.ai/best-ai-video-generators/

    • Provide a script or article

    • Video is generated with the ability to edit text

    • You can use AI generated locations/environments

    • You can add voiceovers

    • Use avatars

    • etc.

Now - as I've said - there are thousands of AI based applications out there waiting to be used.

But these are the four I want to hone in on as we wrap things up.

Because AI is no different than anything else. There will be good use case scenarios and bad ones.

But the fact that these platforms are open and available to the world - is what I wanted to talk about today.

Because you can be sure there will be people using them with less than stellar intentions.

People who only see dollar signs. People who know they will be able to manipulate others. People who know they will be able to spread misinformation using these platforms.

These are people who already do these things without AI. But handing them AI is like handing a baby a machine gun.

Let's finish up with this:

Here are my concerns for the world moving into the AI era:

  • Personal Toll:

    • Loss of expertise - no need to be an expert on anything if AI can provide it

    • Decreased need for education or skills training - if AI already provides that service

    • Laziness:

      • Why do research for a paper in school when AI can provide the entire paper and references?

      • Why write a blog post when Ai can write it for you - and you can clean it up a bit?

      • Why write a novel when AI can do it for you - and you just go back through it and make changes?

      • Why spend time thinking through a logo for a client when you can have AI produce 10 options for you?

  • Social Toll:

    • Inability to differentiate between real and fake in many areas:

      • Content (copy) if written by AI

      • Images and graphics if generated by AI

      • Video & Audio:

        • This has already been used to create "Deep fakes"

        • Video footage of a person saying something they never said

        • Fake audio that sounds like a very real person - but wasn't actually them saying it

      • Think how this will impact news footage:

        • Up until recently - if there was video footage - it was indisputable evidence - you can't fight it if there was footage of you doing it

        • But in the future this won't be true - because footage can be altered, generated - and therefore it might not be as admissible as evidence in the future

    • The government will tell us they can differentiate between real and fake video footage:

      • It'll be called "Video Forensics" or something like that

      • But will you believe them

      • Will you feel confident in their ability to tell the difference?

      • I can't image how we would feel confident when they can't even figure out:

        • Computer hacking

        • Cyber-terrorism

        • SPAM in our Inboxes

        • Robo phone calls

      • If we can't figure out how to stop these things - we most certainly aren't going to coral AI any time soon...

  • Spiritual Toll:

    • This last area is totally based on my upbringing as a Seventh Day Adventist christian

    • I feel like there was a time for Christian Gen X-ers when religion dominated our world view

    • And for a small season - it wasn't just religion - it was eschatology - the study of end time events

    • Bible prophecy was a huge thing - and captured our hearts and minds

    • For me - as a SDA - it was baked in:

      • It's right there in the name

      • "Adventist"

      • Not looking forward to Advent in December each year...

      • Looking forward to the the Second Advent - the return of Jesus

      • Which means the end of time - the end of all things

    • For others it was the Left Behind Series by LaHaye and Jenkins

      • A book series that swept through the evangelical world

      • Based on a belief in the secret rapture

      • Sold over 80 million copies 

      • Basically educated (or miseducated depending on what you believe) an entire generation or kids growing up in the church world

    • I remember reading The End of the Age by Pat Robertson

    • Blood Moon by Hal Lindsey

    • From Daniel to Doomsday by John Hagee

    • I mean it was everywhere you turned

    • I have friends who grew up in the Baptist tradition and they all remember "turn or burn" being a thing

    • Youth group nights where they tried to scare the hell out of you so to speak...

    • Turn from your evil ways or you'll burn forever...

    • And there were often short movies to depict this

    • Movies where two friends experienced similar things - one went to heaven and the other chose poorly and ended up burning forever in hell...

    • I know right! That's some dark stuff. But to a person - they will recount those youth nights and those movies

    • But I say all that for this reason...

    • When we were in this phase of life - the end of time became a filter through which we viewed the world around us

    • Some kept that filter to this day

    • Some lost that filter pretty easily

    • Others got rid of it - only to have it resurface when things in the world start to get out of control

    • The crazy thing is - I doubt subsequent generations even understand what I'm talking about...

      • They view the Bible as a dusty old book - and prophecy as gibberish that you can't possibly believe is real - or that it could be interpreted on some level

      • And of course they think this way - because the world has offered multiple versions of the story - and their parents argue and fight over which one is the right one

      • So they decided to throw it out all together

      • Too much to think about - and it requires too much effort to try and understand - and after all - we're all busy

      • We have travel sports, social media, 4.5 GPAs and paying for college to worry about

    • But I digress...for me - it's always been there - even if just under the surface

    • And that's the tie in with AI for me:

      • I realized the other day that there is a verse in the Bible I held onto for many years

      • A verse I used to predict the end of time

      • In others words - if this starts to happen - that must mean the end is near

      • The verse: Daniel 12:4

        • “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

        • To me this verse was fulfilled with air travel and the Internet

        • Thanks to air travel - we're able to run too and fro at will

        • And thanks to the Internet - knowledge has increased exponentially - we have more information at our fingertips than we can even use in our lifetime

      • But recently I've started to rethink that verse a bit

      • I've been wondering if the Internet was thinking too small

      • Just trying to force it into the verse because it existed - and seemed to fit

      • But as we get closer and closer to a world where AI is running the show

      • There is a really good chance AI fulfills this verse in a whole different way

      • AI only works because knowledge has increased

      • In other words - AI is built on the fact that data exists and can be accessed quickly and easily through the Internet

      • Chat GPT v3 has over 175 billion parameters

      • And with Chat GPT v4 launching soon - there's no telling what it will be capable of

      • But AI is knowledge on a whole different level - exponential growth in data and accessing knowledge

    • Thinking of it this way suggests that AI could truly be the fulfillment of Daniel 12:4

Let's Land the Plane:

This week I went on a deep dive into AI in part because I did't fully understand it.

But also because it feels like a lot. I mean moving from flip phones to iPhones was revolutionary. But moving from static data on the Internet to AI generated content is next level.

It brings up so many ethical questions. The ultimate question being, "Just because we can - should we?"

For me - it's fun. exciting and altogether scary at the same time.

It will be interesting to see where things go as AI takes off for real.

No questions this week - just wanted to hover over this topic for a bit - and get a sense for it's place in the universe...in the grand scheme of things...and possibly in bringing things to an end.

Love that you chose to join me today - I hope all is well in your world.

Have a great week, and as always, keep Transcending Human!

References:

Daryl McMullen
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