The Machines Are Coming
By W. F. Twyman, Jr.
Government Scientist: “What is the motive of the Kanamit people in offering such great gifts to the people of the Earth?
Alien: “Well, I hope that the people of the Earth will understand and believe when I tell you that our mission upon this planet is simply this: …when your world has no more hunger, no more war, no more needless suffering, that will be our reward” — To Serve Man episode, The Twilight Zone, Season 3, Episode 24 (March 2, 1962)
The machines are coming. Artificial intelligence is on the horizon. I have lost track of advancements within the last two weeks. I shut down my mind when I learned a quantum chip had discovered a quantum biomarker for consciousness. If we lose consciousness as free will and choice, wherein lies humanity? I find myself using the descriptor “alien intelligence” more and more these days. That description is not original but it is very apt. I fully credit the writer and historian Yuval Noah Harari.
Let’s try a thought experiment. I revealed my humanity as a writer yesterday in Carmen in the Morning. Can an alien intelligence match my expression of my humanity? A version of Claude passed the Turing Test about three days ago. The Turing Test is a test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behaviour equivalent to that of a human. Can Google NotebookLM express my humanity as well as I can? I have uploaded my top 100 essays into the large language model. What will AI reveal about me? Are we on the precipice of transformative advances in the human condition? No more cancer, heart disease and dementia? The AI Boom in Cancer Artificial Intelligence in Cardiovascular Medicine Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Healthy Aging and Dementia Research No more hunger, no more war?
You decide, but first, does AI know my humanity? Will Alien Intelligence Serve Man?
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To Serve Man: Our Alien Overlords