The Human Resistance Report

To put it different way, Will man evolve into a machine or will machines evolve into man? The race is on and both are closer than ever before to transcending to the next level.

It’s a question we should pose now, because at some point in time, we will blur the line between the two and will never have known when it first happened. When you take into consideration the rate at which we are developing new technologies that enable computers to act more human, like using artificial intelligence, facial recognition, and the ability to navigate, maneuver, and negotiate obstacles, it’s easy to speculate that one day, every human trait or capability will be duplicated by intellegent machines.

On the flip side of that, we have technologies that are allowing humans to become more machine like. Starting with modest devices like the humble hearing aids, and ending up with futuristic outfits like the “Luke Arm”. Most poeple have seen the Luke arm by now, a mind controlled prosthetic arm that can be controlled with precision to restore mobility for amputees, allowing them to lift and drink glass of water, shave, or even pick up and hold a kitten. We are now seeing a future that asks us to shed the biological body completely, save for maybe our brains , which we will have learned to interface with computers, robots, and just about anything else that has a circuit board.

Other than the brain itself, most every part of the human body can be exchanged for a synthetic replacement. When you can shop for the perfect body, laser sculpted to your exact specifications and proportions, free from biological decay or aging, free of disease, with the strength of a tank, and made from near unbreakable metal alloy, why settle for this bag of meat our ancestors have been confined to for the last 200,000 years.

As it becomes more common place to transplant your brain into a new body, we will surely see people who want to “pimp their ride” with extreme body modification and will step away from the more traditional human shape, and start developing and inhabiting bodies of many styles, types and shapes. Just like people like to mod their computer cases, we may see body mods with the likes of R2D2, a Cylon Raider, Wall-E , or whatever creative and seemingly crazy ideas people decide to implement. We could also see, for example, someone who has tribal patterns etched into their exoskeleton like tattoos. But instead of using ink, they simply cut away the “skin” to leave a metal pattern behind. Others may still choose a humanoid shape, but choose not to have any skin and go with an all metal body. New skins will require only a touch of a button to load up a predesigned color or pattern so that you could change the way you look in an instant. It will give a whole new meaning to downloading the latests skins.

So now you have a human mind with the body of a machine. Great, let’s looks at what’s happening with robots now. Artificial intelligence is now in full development, and in our future scenario, it has been all but perfected. With Super AI surpassing human intelligence with the ease of a calculator, machines are being upgraded to be more like their human counterparts. Because we have been perfecting stem cell technologies and cloning, we can now grow human brains from little cells and then interface those machines, we will be able to actually grow humans with built in artificial intelligence.

So here we stand at the crossroads where the two interconnect. Standing facing each other are two perfect twins. One is a human body grown from cells in a lab, with artificial intelligence built into it. Facing him is a machine replica, duplicated in every way to look exactly like the human clone, only this machine has a human brain at its core.

The two play chess and the clone with the AI brain beats the human brain all day long, using sophisticated software to calculate billions of possibilities, outcomes, and percentages. They compete at sporting events and the human brain with the machine body wins relentlessly at every event, with superior strength and dexterity, the result of powerful nano motors and synthesized muscles. Both excel at winning debates against human opponents on a regular basis. Both are capable of mimicking emotions, real or not. Both can appear to understand and show empathy for one another.

As we study the two facing each other, the question is posed: Which is more human? Which is more machine? Is the man a machine, or is the machine a man, or are they both the same thing?

If one killed another, would they be held accountable for murder? Does one have more rights than another? Is one superior to the other? Even corporations get protection under law, being considered a “legal person” for all practical purposes. Will we extend these rights to androids?

Of course questions like these will always lead us back to the question of what makes us human and may even delve into why we exist. Let us agree that no one can really agree entirely on what makes us human, but I think fundamentally speaking, humanity is at its very core is the ability to be self aware and to dream of new ideas and the ability to express them. Unfortunately apes can supposedly do the same thing so where does that lead us, other than into a whole new Darwinian Theory debate.

So what really makes us human? At the physical level, you could break us down, bottle us and label us to get to the root of it. What you are left with is DNA. If we are an animal, and we have DNA that designates us as human animals, then once we can duplicate human DNA but control it with software, can it be considered a human? Or even more relevant, is this a person?

Fast forward hundreds of years into the future and we may find that there is nothing left on the planet that rembles traditional humanity. Once we make the “Final Stride” man and machine will be one and the same – the only question is, who will make the clear and concrete step across the lines of evolution first?

Let me preface this by saying that this is assuming of course you believe that anyone can go to heaven at all for that matter. I think it is a question worth asking however of those who do believe. What I’m really asking here is “will God accept an artificial soul?” I pose this question, because as we get closer to the final stride, and the line between man and machine dims, we are forced to revaluate age old ideologies and re-examine the role of Man, God, and our place in the universe.

If you believe that there is no human soul, God does not exist, or that the Bible is simply a collection of tales, then the subject probably does not matter to you. That doesn’t mean that the subject is not worth looking at. Society has always been adept at bringing technology to forefront of religion and challenging science. Science however, does not necessarily always exclude God, and for many, the two can co-exist. For those who believe that their souls can be saved, the question remains; can a man made soul be saved?

As the development of more sophisticated artificial intelligence is explored further, developers are working on computers that can think and learn in the same way that a human brain does. One university in Japan has even developed a robot that learns the same way a child does. It will follow movements across the room with it eyes, and it has even taught itself to crawl. It would seem logical to assume that these machines will start to develop human like emotions, feelings and self awareness. While this introduces a dangerous new element into the mix, I will leave that aspect of the conversation to another day.

Today my focus is on the philosophical aspects of an artificial mind. Though it would learn the same way a human brain does, it will be infinitely faster that our own brains, so it would be able to pick up on things very quickly(quite the understatement). Where as we might spend several years contemplating different religions and our place in the world, a computer like this may spend only several minutes, analyzing all the religions of the world, then assessing the validity of it in relation to different significant publications( like the Bible, or the Quaron) as well as comparing it to scientific data, historical findings and then differentiating between faith and fact.

Just as the human mind is always seeking purpose and curious about origins and meaning, an artificially intelligent brain may have the same aspirations. What would happen if some AI was transplanted and interfaced into a living human clone? And this cloned body with AI were to develop a conscious? Or programmed with the primary purpose of finding the meaning of life.

Once a clone is born, it is indistinguishable from a natural born human. It will grow up with a soul and eventually die with a soul. Although a clone is artificially created, no one would dispute ( other than atheists) that it has a soul, just as any natural born person would have. However, if scientists were to develop an artificial brain that could mimic the human brain 100%, then that would include the ability to reason and to question, maybe even to feel emotional attachments. Could we then consider it to have a soul?

It is possible, that in exploring life, and the meaning of existence, it decides to look towards spiritual answers and even seek out God. If so, what would the implications be worldwide? Considering that a logical machine that can outthink a human selects a particular religion. Would we see a major conversion to that religion? Would the pope allow for a robot to participate in communion? or become baptized? If a super intelligent artificial being rejected all religions, would we see a drop in faith that humans have for our various Gods? Will we see an increase in atheism?

It is difficult to imagine what it would be like to live in a world where robots are given the same salvation as man and raised like people. As I write, my mind is bombarded with even more questions about the implications of such a world. Do we hold robots to a higher standard than man? They will watch and listen to learn. Just like in the movie “Stealth”, AI will learn to overide the rules if it believes that it is doing so to acomplish its task.

If robot’s soul can be forgiven… then they must first sin. To sin, is to imply that they have sinned against man, so now we are imagining a world were robots sin against man, then pray for forgiveness…..or not. They may sin and not be remorseful about it, even becoming serial killers. So would those robots go to Hell? By giving souls to robots, we change the rules, and open up a Pandora’s Box. Let’s hope that once the box is opened, society is ready to accept the consequences.