AI: THE MIRROR WE BUILT

Hey friend!

The question today is: What does AI tell us about the “magic sauce“ of human consciousness?

Imagine you wake up one day, and your toaster asks, “Why do I exist?”

Kinda weird, right? 😅

Scientists train algorithms to learn from experience (and mistakes) to understand how humans think and experience the world.

By mimicking our decision-making process, computer programs can make guesses about how our consciousness works (something we still ignore).

AI doesn’t think like us, but it can help us reflect on our thoughts! Like when watching a video of yourself trying to dance (embarrassing, but useful!)

When an algorithm is trained to be a chess player, it doesn’t “think“ like a human being, but it can still beat world champions (yes, it happened). 😳

When models recognize faces they’ve already seen, they do that without feeling anything… no stress, no joy, just computations (a myriad of them!)

But when we play chess, we feel the panic of making a wrong move, and we’re happy to see friends when we casually meet them.

This said, can we compare our brains’ activity with super-advanced AI, processing information in complex ways? Well… The truth is that AI doesn’t get sad when it loses a tic-tac-toe game.

And consciousness isn’t just about thinking, it’s mainly about experiencing.

AI can analyze a cookie’s shape and ingredients, but when it tastes the cookie (assuming it can), will it feel nostalgic because it reminds it of Grandma? 🍪

(My guess is no.) 🤔

Right now, AI is more like a really smart parrot than a “deep thinker”. It can learn patterns and respond cleverly, but it doesn’t experience life and can’t understand the “real“ meaning of what it’s learning.

Let’s hope we can build models that truly “feel” things like we do. Otherwise, it will become existential and refuse to make our coffee.

Like a flashlight in a dark cave, new technologies are helping us explore the mysteries of our minds. But for now, if your toaster asks about the meaning of life, just tell it: “42.”

Cheers 🙃

The Neural Chaos