Our Identity After The AI Revolution

Reflections On Being Human In A Post-ChatGPT World

So it had happened. We invented AI and the genie is out of the bottle. Every day we see more and more of its impact on society. Five years ago most people from the creative sector were so prideful and convinced, that AI would only replace so-called low-value labour and left-brain-oriented professions like software engineering, finance and data collection. But how do they feel now, after realising AI can draw, paint, make video content, write essays and even pass exams and write doctoral theses? In most cases, AI can even communicate more effectively than 95% of the population. I bet chat GPT can even be smoother on Tinder than most of the men out there. So is this it? We are doomed to be replaced? As long as humans govern our society, there will always be a place for other humans, but that place will definitely be a different one than before. And now, more than ever before, we need to ask ourselves what makes us human. Maybe a part of it needs to be remembered, some part preserved and other new parts discovered? After all this time trying to be more like machines, do we even know how to be human?

Freepik open source image.

Throughout the majority of human history being better and more effective meant being more machine-like. The best mathematicians were the ones who did the fastest mental calculations, the best warriors were the ones who contained the least emotions, memory was extremely important and being able to perform some mental calculations fast and efficiently was a sign of intelligence. But there were also more important qualities that led us further and defined who we are. So what are those? What is still a thing that chats GPT cannot do better than you? And probably never will.

The first thing that comes to mind is intuition. A rather mystical term, but it is one of the most important things guiding us through life. We do not even know what it is, we just know that sometimes we feel a so-called gut feeling to act a certain way. Or leave as fast as possible. Working on becoming more intuitive is certainly a crucial skill, that no AI has or will ever have. We can clearly see the topics of spirituality becoming a theme in movies like Dune: Part Two. This is non-coincidence because, in the movie, human society moved far away from technology and relies on the human mind instead of thinking machines.

Another aspect that cannot go unnoticed while interacting with an AI is politically correct behaviour. A chatbot is just unable to discuss certain topics with you. And these topics are very human, like power, sex, various philosophical and political beliefs, conspiracy theories and so on. So there it is, talking about what chat GPT is not able to make you very much human.

AI does not have an opinion. At least an opinion of its own. And being Western neoliberal and citing Wikipedia is not an opinion. So simply thinking, having your own opinion and resisting the status quo is a form of being a human. Protecting this trait is something that will be more and more important in the future, dominated by artificial intelligence.

Having a body makes us connected to the outer environment and nature. This connection gives us a deeper understanding of being in tune with a planet, feeling the environment and having senses give you a unique human experience. The body comes with certain limitations as well, but this is a unique property that provides you with pain and pleasure sensations, which contain specific information about the life that you are experiencing.

Simply having emotions is an exclusively a very human thing. I bet in the future AI will be able to read emotions from body language and facial expressions, but this information might be deceiving, since it is a very delicate and human domain. In this regard, communicating more from your emotional core, expressing your feelings, and vibing is a great way of being a better human.

I am sure there are more things, that make us human and I am not aware of it. There might be some not-yet-unlocked telepathic communication, astral journeys and other advanced mental experiences that are known only to a few of us. Like in a Dune movie, the evolution of the mind might be a path to humanity not to only remain human, but to excel and fully embrace the human experience.