Opinion Cyborg vs AI
Intelligent machines are going to steal jobs. Humanity may need to evolve to retain its place.
The evolution of humanity, or its demise, will not be a function of natural selection, at least according the sci-fi writers. Computers may become smart enough to replace us, and humans can’t take that lying down. With automation and artificial intelligence (AI) — think driver-less cars, worker-less factories — already on the verge of rendering many a homo sapien unemployed, an entrepreneur is planning to lead the fight against job-seekers from across the biological border.
Elon Musk, futurist and prolific founder, Tesla and SpaceX, has announced a new company — Neuralink. The venture, according to reports, will explore and develop “brain-computer interfaces”. Simply put, to compete with the spectre of machine intelligence, the human brain must augment itself against machines. And the idea isn’t as far-fetched as it seems. Last year, in an interview to Recode, Musk had spoken of how human beings are already becoming cyborgs — part-man part-machine. After all, we pour so much of ourselves into the digital sphere — from the post on Facebook, to opinions on Twitter and hard disks that act as prosthetics for our memory. As of now, our connections to the digital world and its resources are mediated by operating systems and embedded in devices. Musk wants to eliminate that middleman with implants, and then, maybe, the cyborg-man can compete with AI.
We must keep in mind, of course, that Musk is also a businessman. Apocalyptic prophecies on AI notwithstanding, Neuralink is unlikely to be a non-profit charity. Brain implants, long before they have to help humanity fight a machine uprising a la Terminator, can help treat a variety of neurological conditions from Parkinson’s and ALS to Alzheimer’s and dementia. And the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry is a big business, one where a tech mogul like Tesla could make a lot of money while the digital doomsday is awaited.
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