Human presence, the source of creative wisdom beyond memory, must lead AI as a tool so it can replace mechanical thinking while we safeguard mental wellbeing and guide humane evolution.
There are two main parts of the human mind: thinking, and creative intelligence that arises in presence. Thinking is a mechanical function built on recorded memory, while creative intelligence has nothing to do with past memory; it requires presence, which AI can never have. Is it okay for such creative intelligence to employ AI instead of human thinking? I believe it is inevitable, because AI, with its vast capacity for computation and data, may be a better vehicle for creative human intelligence than limited human thought. When human presence employs AI, there are no issues, but when limited human thinking tries to employ it, problems may arise. Such problems can often reflect one’s own inner confusions, as AI acts like an amplifying mirror.
I think it is more important than ever that people live with the clarity of presence, because that is the healthiest way to deal with AI. We may be entering a period in human evolution where the limited, mechanical thinking function of the brain becomes obsolete. This process has already been underway with every new technology, including calculators, computers, and mobile phones, but AI may be the final knockout for this restricted function of human thought. Whether I personally like that or not is irrelevant, even though I am a very humane person, because I am also a realist: if evolution demands that I adapt, as I once adapted to calculators and computers, then I will. I see nothing fundamentally wrong with replacing this narrow, mechanical process of human thought with far more capable machine thinking, so long as creative human intelligence, which arises through presence, remains the master of AI. Only then can this evolutionary process avoid going astray.
In my opinion, until the potential age of abundance, which may take about two decades if handled properly, most people who need to make a living may have to adapt to AI in most of the work that remains for humans; otherwise they may face the risk of unemployment. So the human brain will have to adapt to AI, willingly or unwillingly, for survival reasons. One potential outcome of such adaptation is that limited human thinking may slowly become obsolete, because AI augmented thinking will be much more efficient than the thinking function of the human brain. This is where I sense a great challenge for humanity, because this adaptation will likely be easier for those who are more often in touch with presence and more difficult for those ho are less in touch with it.
I would like to explain this further for better clarity. Why is presence the key to having a healthy relationship with AI? First, by presence I mean the state of mind when all thinking ends. Thinking is the movement of psychological time; it is always related to the past or the future, and it is bound by time because its origin is recorded memory. Therefore, thinking can never enter the dimension of presence. That dimension appears when thinking ends; the ending of thought and the subsequent silence of the mind is what true spirituality is about. When the mind enters this state of presence, it is supremely intelligent, and this intelligence is different from the kind that is measurable, such as AI or ordinary human thinking. This state of mind, with its peculiar quality of silence, is also truly at peace. The quality of intelligence the mind touches in this state can be called wisdom, and since AI is also bound by time through its recorded memory and data, it too can never enter this dimension of presence and its timeless intelligence of wisdom. This dimension of presence is reserved for, and unique to, human beings.
I believe humanity must take further steps to be more in touch with this dimension of presence in the new age of AI for this evolutionary process to go smoothly, because the wisdom of presence has the intelligence to employ AI wisely rather than become lost in it. The mind will need more rest in this dimension of presence in the age of AI to refresh, revitalize, and reenergize itself; otherwise there is a serious risk of the mind getting lost in this superintelligent AI that has appeared on the horizon. We must learn how to remain healthy humans by staying in touch with this dimension of presence more often. Ironically, it seems that the only true medicine for the undesired effects of this powerful technology is true spirituality, living in the timelessness of the present moment.
Some people will also react harshly to this new technology, preferring to live like the Amish, creating ‘no AI’ zones or ‘made by humans only’ rules. This is understandable, but in the long term such a branch of humanity may face extinction if the group that adopts AI is not compassionate enough. Therefore I believe it is wise to adopt AI with presence and care, because unlike previous technologies, AI may be very destructive to human psychology if it is not handled with such wisdom, given the independent and high level of intelligence embedded in it.
I personally love AI, and I have never had any negative issue or experience with it. But I understand that many may have serious problems because they are not sufficiently in touch with the dimension of presence; therefore I see it as more important than ever to be present. For the reasons I tried to go into, it seems humanity is on the verge of an evolutionary period driven by AI adoption, and those who are present will adapt with much less pain than those who are not. That said, I will never get one of these brain chips implanted in my brain as part of this adaptation, but I am sure technology will bring better ways of adapting without intruding on the human body. It seems we are facing the next stage in human evolution imminently, and I feel the wisdom of presence will be the best guide for humanity in this process.