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In a World of Algorithms, What Is the Importance of Being Human?

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In a World of Algorithms, What Is the Importance of Being Human? IN A WORLD OF ALGORITHMS, WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING HUMAN? Bragg Member Question 2016 A publication In a world of algorithms, The Royal what is the Institution importance of being of human?Australia 1 In a world of algorithms, what is the importance of being human? 2 Contents Editors Carol Perkins Julie LeMessurier 4 Foreword - Dr Paul Willis 4 What is a Bragg member? Art Director/Designer Shawnee Willis Bragg Member Submissions In A World of Algorithms, 5 Dr Alan Finkel AO What is the Importance 7 Professor Lyn Beazley AO of Being Human? 9 Professor Marcello Costa is a publication of 11 Professor Michael Archer AM The Royal Institution of Australia 12 Emerita Professor Patricia Vickers-Rich 13 Peter Gago 16 Professor Tanya Monro 17 Adjunct Professor Zee Upton 20 Bragg Member Profiles In a world of algorithms, what is the importance of being human? 3 Foreword Dr Paul Willis Director, The Royal Institution of Australia In the third edition of his Systema Natura Carl Linnaeus named our species Homo sapiens. Literally translated to “know thyself”, in bestowing this name on us all Linnaeus was saying that the distinguishing feature of humans against all other life on Earth was our ability for introspection, the still undefinable character of consciousness and the unscientific but meaningful concept of a human spirit. It is this human spirit that has been the foundation for our success. Our ability for introspection spawned curiosity. For the first time in the history of life we could change our environment to suit our needs thus freeing ourselves from the endless iterations of Natural Selection where the environment shaped us. All that we have gained and developed can be traced back to that enigmatic description that Linnaeus so keenly identified; Know Thyself. But, in an age where our technologies greatly exceed our natural abilities, we should take time to reflect on how far this replacement of our human functions can or should extend. Will the digital algorithms that can already outstrip our analog capacities to calculate, remember and organise ever extend to challenge the essence of what it is to be human? Can artificial intelligence ever define for us that which we cannot define for ourselves and approximate the functions of the human spirit? When so many domains of our historical activities are being replaced with automation, will there be any space left for the functions of the human brain? Will the rise of technology ever lead to the redundancy of humans? These are deep and profound questions that arise out of the proposition In a world of algorithms, what is the importance of being human? We posed this proposition to some of the greatest minds in the nation, the Honorary Bragg Members of The Royal Institution of Australia. I think you will find their varied and insightful responses will keep you thinking long after you have read them. What is a Bragg member? Named after the prominent Australian Pioneer scientists, Sir William Henry Bragg and Sir William Lawrence Bragg, Honorary Bragg Membership is the highest category of membership awarded by The Royal Institution of Australia and recognises excellence in scientific achievement and commitment to science communication. In a world of algorithms, what is the importance of being human? 4 As Australia’s Chief Scientist I have been Dr Alan Finkel AO struck by our knack for finding reasons not to succeed. We are not innovative, our research is average, we don’t collaborate, we’re underfunded, we’re overfunded, life’s so good that we’re complacent, life’s so bad that we’re fearful and boring…There seems to be no data we can’t report in a “Humans are the depressing way. most remarkable Then it hit me that this negativity is not some quirk of the Australian character, synthesis of a lot but part of the human condition, so deeply of tolerable ingrained that we even apply it to the characteristics to business of being human itself. We are not create a whole that as fast as cheetahs, we can’t see like an eagle, we can’t camouflage ourselves like is truly astonishing” a chameleon, we can’t smell like a dog, we can’t dive like a dolphin… If I thought about our country as the sum total of its inadequacies then I too might be tempted to despair. But consider for a moment the positives – unemployment is low, the standard of living is high, and Australia is the only country in the world that can say it hasn’t seen a recession in 25 years. Something is clearly going right! And that something can only be found by thinking of our country as more than the sum of its real and imagined limitations. So too with humans. Yes, we could come up with a miserable list by looking for the outliers in the animal world and comparing our performance on the very things that make those animals exceptional. That would be the wrong way to assess our capabilities! In a world of algorithms, what is the importance of being human? 5 Humans are the most remarkable synthesis of a lot of tolerable characteristics to create a whole that is truly astonishing. This is particularly so when it comes to our brains, rightly described by many commentators as the most complex machine in the known universe. If there is any creature out there that might one day come close to the package of features known as a human being, it is the creature that we ourselves are creating – the algorithm. Or call it Artificial Intelligence, or Machine Learning, or Robotics. It’s easy to look at the individual skills embodied in the world of algorithms and conclude it is all over. We will become irrelevant, of no importance; and soon enough, unemployed. But take solace in package deals. Yes, computers are faster and more accurate than us, just like a cheetah runs faster. Yes, image processing software can pick out more details than we can, just like an eagle sees further. Yes, there are algorithms that can learn like we do and beat us in chess. And there are algorithms that can analyse company reports, or compose music or write a short story. There are robots that can drive, others that can climb, still others that can crawl through rubble to find signs of life in collapsed buildings after an earthquake. But put them altogether and all you will have is a highly capable machine. Good luck getting it to go snorkelling, dry off and have a drink at the bar, share some funny stories, then wander over to the lab to discover something new before rushing home to read to the kids. Good luck getting it to enjoy those things. A smarter robot is not a substitute human. And in a world of algorithms, why would I still choose to be human? The answer, friends, is the package deal. The package of features that constitutes a human is special and will remain special for a very long time. In a world of algorithms, what is the importance of being human? 6 Let’s start by defining the word algorithm: Professor Lyn Beazley AO “a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer”. And now let’s give some examples of their use in our lives. Algorithms underpin the automation that keeps modern life on track on a 24/7 basis. Yet we do not question how computer- controlled automation happens, we take it for granted. We hardly think twice about the automation underlying the processing that “... can algorithms ensures the purity of the water we drink or the safety of the electricity generated and fuel the human distributed to reach our door. Complex spirit? I doubt it” computer-controlled processes are unseen but without them we wouldn’t have discovered the gas fields and extracted their contents to provide the gas with which we cook our food nor could we have produced, processed and packaged the food that forms so much of our modern diet. And where would we be without the algorithms that allow us to use our mobile phones and be part of the worldwide web? Perhaps in years to come, we will take for granted that our car is under remote control. All the present automation seems pretty acceptable to most people (if they even stop to think about it) but the seemingly inexorable advance of automation has down sides at a personal level: remotely controlled mine sites or the oil and gas platforms mean fewer jobs, and impersonal machines replace a person who takes our money at a car park exit or a real human In a world of algorithms, what is the importance of being human? 7 who answers that enquiry by phone. At present, at least we interact with a hopefully caring person when we visit the doctor although increasingly computers such as Watson will aid in diagnosis and robots will conduct operations (it’s happening for precision knee surgery right now). When we take to the skies, the plane is mainly under computer control, but how many of us would accept a robot addressing you from the cockpit? These examples begin to address the importance of being human. At a simplistic level, humans are important because their creativity generates the algorithms on which they rely day in, day out. But can algorithms fuel the human spirit? I doubt it. The spirit generates the full range of human behaviour and emotions, both good and bad, that determine human history.
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