Moravec's paradox is a phenomenon observed by robotics researcher Hans Moravec, in which tasks that are easy for humans to perform (e.g. motor or social skills) are difficult for machines to replicate, whereas tasks that are difficult for humans (e.g. performing mathematical calculations or large-scale data analysis) are relatively easy for machines to accomplish.
What Makes Us Feel Special?
I don’t know exactly whether I’m asking this question at the level of the species or the individual. The answer might be the same on average. I’m emphasising the word “feel”: the subjective experience is more interesting to me on this topic.
Experts thought that AI would replace the more simple jobs first. There is something intuitive about that assumption. But, it now seems wrong. Some remarkable feats of the mind are among the easiest for AI to replicate and improve upon. Yet, the things we take for granted, the effortless tasks, are still out of reach for the machines. By extension, some jobs that were / are sought after, might be pointless (for the sapiens) soon.
What then, makes us feel special? Someone might spend most of their life mastering a skill. They dedicate themselves to it. Sacrifice in the name of it. It’s complex and tough to do… for a human. Being good at something feels good. The gooder better you are at it the better you feel (more or less). Yes, it is unwise to define yourself or self-worth through what you’re able to do, but it’s clear that it’s part of the equation. Feeling special often comes from being able to do something special, unusual or rare enough to distinguish yourself among your immediate circle.
A computer-aided diagnostic system might be able to analyse large volumes of images quickly and accurately but might struggle to recognise clinical context or technical limitations that a human radiologist would easily identify.
The thing that separates us from AI might be the basics. Picking up on social cues and connecting simple dots together — we do that well. Picking up a cup of tea and sipping it with precision — also do that well. Common sense could be what distinguishes us most from AI. But, there’s a snag — “common”. Everyone has it (in theory). If the only thing that sets us apart from the machines is common to most people then... that’s not exactly special.
Machines already do many things better than us. Even the best chess players in the world can’t compete with the chess engines / AI out there. They haven’t been able to for a long time now. I imagine that they still feel special in their abilities. There is inherent joy in the experience of playing, creating and competing across the board. So this could be a non-issue. But, it feels like a crisis of… specialness, or purpose, or meaning, is coming down the line right towards us.
This is not the same as what makes you feel happy, or loved, or valued. It’s about uniqueness. So I’ll ask you: what makes you feel special?
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I would like to make the argument that the difference between humans and robots is the capacity for insight. Relevance realization makes us highly adaptable. Relevance realization is what gives us the capacity for insight. Our ability to realize what is relevant is our superpower. It stems from the fact that we are autopoietic gives us the ability and the impetus to find what is most relevant in any given situation as it pertains to our body and preserving it. So indeed the question is how do we feel as humans bc robots at the time do not have the will to survive because they have no senses bc they really don’t need them. It really gets me thinking about the complexity of life and how each cell contains cells within itself and they are all performing a function that benefits the entire body.
Refencing the Awakening From the Meaning Crisis Series by Dr. John Vervaeke, particularly episodes after 26 (but you may need the 25 episode lead up to understand the vocabulary as he introduces the meaning of words he uses as goes.)