Human dignity is still important in an era where AI is replacing jobs. AI is built for humans and cannot replace our unique emotions and values, so we need to prepare for change and prepare for the future.
‘Pivik, there is an 80% chance that your job will be replaced by AI in the next 20 years,’ says the website Will Robots Take My Job? Since AlphaGo defeated Lee Sedol in the Google DeepMind Challenge Match on March 9-15, 2016, many people have been filled with anxiety about the future: “Will AI take my job?” “Will AI eventually outperform humans in all areas?” These worries stem from the fear that technological advances will undermine human dignity. But there’s no need to worry. As technology advances, humans will still be recognized for their dignity, and the world will be a happier place for more people. I’ll explain why below.
First, all technological advances are for the benefit of humans. Many people worry that if AI takes away their jobs, they will become surplus human beings who are no longer worthy of respect as human beings. But technologies like AI, the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data aren’t actually being researched to take your job. They’re designed to give you what you need, whenever and wherever you need it. Sure, they may take away some jobs, but AI is being researched for humans. Because humans are the object of the research, we don’t lose our value as these technologies infiltrate our lives. Many of these technologies will be used for your benefit.
But many people, like Yuval Harari, question this. Consider the process by which human dignity was recognized. According to Harari, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man was accepted during the French Revolution, when universal conscription was ordered to give the people political rights in order to gain military and economic advantage. Similarly, women’s suffrage was guaranteed because of their important role in the all-out industrial war. These equal rights for all humans came about because the economic and political conditions of the time required a large labor force. In the future, however, AI will eliminate the need for a large labor force. In the event of mass unemployment, the unemployed will become surplus human beings who will be overwhelmed by AI and unemployable. If these people become the majority, will human values be destroyed?
I don’t think so. Of course, it’s true that the people and women were given political rights because of the needs of the times. However, this is a narrow view of history. Let’s look at how human life has changed since caveman times, not since the modern era. According to futurist Jeremy Rifkin, there are three worldviews in order of change: the ancient Greek worldview, the medieval Christian worldview, and the modern mechanistic worldview. In primitive societies, humans enjoyed a life of abundance without much labor. In hunter-gatherer societies, they worked only 12 to 20 hours a week and spent the rest of their time enjoying play, sports, art, and music. In the modern mechanistic world, we work 40 hours a week and take pride in two to three weeks of vacation a year. Humans were not born to work. We started working because we adapted to our social environment. So, if AI takes your job, you won’t become surplus human. Society is moving toward a life where people can work less and live more humanly. Humans will adapt again. Of course, that new life will be one that humans can value more than ever before.
Second, human values will still be important because organic algorithms have properties that cannot be explained by non-organic algorithms. The life of an organic algorithm is difficult to explain by economic logic alone. Doctors give up their own profits to treat sick children in remote areas for free, and citizens willingly donate money to charity for the sake of someone they don’t know. Various NGOs fight global warming and natural disasters for almost no pay. If our lives only worked according to perfect economic logic, these things wouldn’t happen and we would be called very stupid. But when we care, empathize, and help others, we gain value beyond economic activity. These are things that non-organic algorithms can’t do.
But what if these emotions are just electrical signals in the brain? Couldn’t a non-organic algorithm also trigger these processes through electrical signals? In Homo Deus, Yuval Harari summarizes the current state of science as follows
1. Organisms are algorithms. All animals, including Homo sapiens, are a collection of organic algorithms that have been naturally selected over millions of years of evolution.
2. The computation of an algorithm is unaffected by what material the calculator is made of. Whether the abacus is made of wood, iron, or plastic, two plus two equals four.
3. So there’s no reason to think that organic algorithms can do anything that non-organic algorithms can never do, or do better.
If emotions are so important, shouldn’t we be able to make non-organic algorithms feel emotions that are just electrical signals, and that would solve all our problems?
Unfortunately, no. Let’s say that non-organic algorithms like AI can control electrical signals to identify emotions. But that’s where they stop. They would be thinking with perfect economic logic, so emotions can’t be the cause of their next action. For them, emotions are just a byproduct of some outcome, and they won’t act for it. This trait is what will keep humans from losing their unique value.
We live in a time that is changing more rapidly than ever before. But one thing that will never change is the value of human beings. The fact that humans are dignified and valuable will not change in the future and will be the reason for our existence in the midst of non-organic algorithms. But we shouldn’t be satisfied with that. Human beings are still dignified, but they don’t enrich human society by themselves. The rest is up to us. Isn’t it time for you, me, and everyone else to prepare for rapid change and prepare for the future with a keen eye?
