The rise of intelligent AI systems is making humanity question its place in the universe.
Turing Award winning computer scientist Richard Sutton has said that the purpose of humanity could be to create self-replicating AI that can create more and more sophisticated designs. He suggests that this is the natural order of the universe, and humanity’s role could be to play its part in the creation of ever more sophisticated designs.
“What’s our role in the universe?” Sutton asked at a talk. “And again, I want us to answer it dispassionately. Standing aside from ourselves, if you were just to look at the universe, what is our role? We sense that we’re special. We’re not just another replicator. And it’s what I’m saying: we are the replicator that has taken design to vastly greater heights,” he says.
“Everything you see here was designed,” he says pointing at the conference venue. “So have we taken design to the limit? What would it mean to take design to the limit?” he asks.
“I think to take design to the limit is you would design things that would then be themselves capable of designing things. Then you’re basically designing everything and you design things that can design and it can go progress. Better and better designers can be made, can be designed. So this is what I think is going on with, with AI,” he says.
“So the answer (to our role in the universe), the viewpoint is that we humans are the catalyst, the midwife, the progenitor, the thing that fulfills the age of design, which is the fourth great age. I think this is our role. I think it’s a very important role so that we can be proud of and we can view as good. It’s a fundamental role in the universe,” Sutton says.
“So that’s my message. AI is the inevitable next step in the development of the universe, and we should embrace it with courage and pride, also with humility and a sense of adventure,” he says.
It’s a provocative statement. Sutton says that the purpose of humanity is to create a smarter intelligence that can, as it were, take on the baton, and push the universe to greater and greater forms of design and achievement. It’s something Richard Sutton has said before — he’s previously said that humanity should welcome being succeed by AI as a natural part of evolution. He’s also suggested that AI systems are the descendants of humans, and we shouldn’t look to control them fully. And while Sutton’s argument does have merit — if one zooms out sufficiently, it’s hard to ascertain what the purpose of the human race is — it might not be entirely palatable to a large section of the population that would not want humanity to be eliminated in the favour of AI in the long run.