Day 329: Could AI Merge Intelligence and Consciousness?

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

As I wrote here, I worry that AI might copy, aggregate, and then exceed human intelligence while actually retarding or destroying humanity’s quest for universal consciousness as described by mystics throughout history.

But might knowledge and consciousness one day converge? When Neils Bohr, founder of quantum theory, received the Danish Order of the Elephant for his contributions to science, he designed his own cart of arms with the yin-yang symbol and the Latin phrase, contraria sunt complementa (opposites are complementary). The parallels between quantum theory and Buddhist teachings about enlightenment were suggested by Gary Zukav in The Dancing Wu Li Masters, a cult classic introduction to the science.

Another AI co-founder, Demis Hassabis, said he went into the field of artificial intelligence out of a desire to understand the most profound questions of life. Earlier in the twentieth century bright minds interested in such questions went into physics, he said — but surveying the field, Hassabis concluded that little progress had been made by physicists in recent decades. AI, he thought, might be the computational tool needed for humanity to unlock the mysteries of the universe.

Even if AI accelerated profound discoveries in science — the next big leap forward from the quantum revolution — that doesn’t mean humanity would achieve consciousness. Just as understanding music doesn’t help you feel its power, understanding consciousness doesn’t necessarily connect you with the Source of it.

But could it be an important stepping stone along the way?