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Weijian Shan
Weijian Shan

Opinion | The edge humans have over AI? Use your imagination

  • Recent advances in artificial intelligence have sparked fears that the machines may one day take over
  • What distinguishes human beings from AI is consciousness of the kind that leads to independent and creative thinking

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A visitor takes a picture with his mobile phone of an image designed with artificial intelligence by Berlin-based digital creator Julian van Dieken inspired by Johannes Vermeer’s painting “Girl with a Pearl Earring” at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague on March 9. Photo: AFP
Weijian Shan
Recent advances in artificial intelligence raise the question of whether it will eventually replace and surpass human intelligence.
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A decade ago physicist Stephen Hawking said he feared thinking machines would evolve faster than humans, bound as we are by our biological limits, and eventually take on a life of their own, potentially spelling the end of the human race.

Can machines become intelligent and powerful enough to turn against their makers, as they did the film The Matrix?

The answer is no, because machines cannot acquire the “consciousness” – the awareness of one’s own existence, thoughts, feelings, sensations and surroundings – that would inspire such a revolt.

Consciousness can be seen as a gift from God, granted only to humans. Scientifically speaking, consciousness evolved from the primordial need to survive and reproduce, which gave rise to the “desire” and “intentions” that drive behaviour and set objectives. An AI machine will not evolve to set objectives on its own, because without these primordial needs it cannot acquire consciousness or free will.

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