That is why I like to
take time and see the little things that give me hope. And I also hope that
perhaps this new perspective will help you see the same hope. Today, that hope
is a little rover named Opportunity and its sacrifice in the name of furthering
our understanding of the universe around us, even if it was in our celestial
backyard.
The hope Opportunity
gives me revolves around something we as human beings do so regularly that many
of you may be surprised that it can be seen as profound: anthropomorphizing. WE
project our humanity onto other things.
Now, why is that a cause
for hope? Surely for some it’s a cause for ridicule. Something childish we do
as children with our toys and teddy bears. Disney/Pixar have an entire film
franchise based around it. I recall back in 2015 listening to comedian Dara O’Briain
bringing myself and the rest of the audience to tears of laughter over the fate
of the drillers that dug out the tunnel under the English Channel.
The gist of the joke was
that the diggers were just left down there, sealed behind walls. Sure, feeling
sorry for mere unfeeling machines is silly, isn’t it? They feel nothing for us,
they have no consciousness, yet we cannot help but project it onto them, can
we?
Now, again you may ask, why
does this give me hope? This gives me hope because of what it says
fundamentally about the future. Just around the corner is true artificial
intelligence. For so long we’ve been so terrified of cold, unfeeling machines
coming to destroy us all, machines that think purely mathematically inevitably
coming around to the realization we humans need to be destroyed.
Personally, as an aside,
I feel that says more about our fundamental view of ourselves than any rational
conclusion about what a true artificial intelligence might do.
This view is also steeped
in the mindset that morality can only come from on high, that any intelligence
that comes from a source other than a grand creator must be devoid of any
morality. As though we could not pass such a morality supposedly given unto us
onto such an offspring. And should that morality have not come from a higher
power than us, then we created our own morality, and our own intelligence grew
with us, then the thought that we could not pass it on to a true artificial intelligence
I think is also absurd.
Especially in light of
our love for little Opportunity. If we can experience love and affection for a piece
of machinery thousands and thousands of miles away, exploring an entirely new
planet so that we don’t have to, how much more are we going to express for our
spiritual children of artificial intelligence?
In the mere hours since
Opportunity ‘died,’ there have been calls for the first manned mission to Mars
to bring Opportunity home. We’ve come to care so deeply for, what some would call,
a mere machine we want to bring it home. We want to honour Opportunity and show
it we care.
And I say: let’s do it. Let’s express our love
and admiration for Opportunity. That is the beauty of humanity. That is the
extent of our love as a species. It’s a love we’re likely to pass down to an
artificially intelligent offspring. It’s a beautiful thing, and thank you,
Opportunity, for expanding our understanding of our universe, and of course for
helping show just how much love we have left.
