An Apocalypse Of Self-Abdication

A summary of:
Lanier, J. (2010). You Are Not Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Gadget: Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Manifesto. Allen Lane: London.
Chapter 2: An Apocalypse of Self-Abdication

Lanier interestingly proposes that "if you lot believe the Singularity is coming soon, you lot mightiness cease to pattern engineering to serve humans, as well as cook instead for the grand events it volition bring" (25). Are nosotros designing from a house of fear, on some marking accepting our eventual slavery to our ain creations? We seem to believe that bits are alive... as well as should endure respected, as well as (absurdly) free. But they are bits! They are non conscious; nosotros are. We deserve to endure free; they don't (28). What happens when you lot revere engineering is that you lot idolize it as well as endeavor to endure every bit much similar it every bit possible. It's similar nosotros want nosotros were machines. And if that's non the case, if that contention is abhorent, as well as then nosotros necessitate to reconfigure out engineering to reverberate as well as reassert our humanness.

Consider this ridiculous want to rid us of the necessitate for authors (i.e. people, creative ones!) as well as plough the network into 1 massive, global volume (Kevin Kelly). And how offensive is Chris Anderson's proposal that "science should no longer seek theories that scientists tin understand, because the digital cloud volition empathize them meliorate anyway" (26)! Why are nosotros thence defeatist? Why exercise nosotros assume that the figurer knows to a greater extent than than us? But nosotros do. For example, when nosotros pick out Word's automation of the document, nosotros tacitly pick out the stance that the engineering understands us to a greater extent than than nosotros empathize ourselves. Where is our self-esteem? Can nosotros non assert ourselves? Why can't nosotros recognize how much meliorate nosotros are at (certain) things than computers? For example, "we don't concord sentence-comprehension tournaments, because novel observe that trace of piece of job likewise easy, likewise ordinary" (34).

This is all symptomatic of a novel organized faith that deifies data inwards the hopes that nosotros tin hit immortality past times uploading into a figurer (29).

The inquiry Lanier wants us to inquire is: How does engineering alter people? For example, what does this exercise to empathy? "I fearfulness that nosotros are offset to pattern ourselves to conform digital models of us, as well as I worry most a leaching of empathy as well as humanity inwards that process" (39). While non fully explicating the reasons for this fear, he seems to imply that digital technologies exercise a blurring of the lines nosotros purpose to depict "circles of empathy" approximately things - e.g. is a digital someone a someone worthy of empathy? - which as well as then threatens morality, as well as nosotros must actively reconstruct our morality to ensure it reflects our values meaningfully.

The choice - to endure a flake hyperbolic - is that nosotros unwittingly facilitate an dry ground forces of zombies: people who seem people-like, exactly who are empty of whatsoever existent humanity. Lanier takes a defiant stand upward against such zombie-hood:

"Humans are free. We tin commit suicide for the exercise goodness of a Singularity. We tin engineer our genes to meliorate back upward an imaginary hive mind. We tin brand civilisation as well as journalism into second-rate activities as well as pass centuries remixing the detritus of the 1960s as well as other eras from earlier private inventiveness went out of fashion.
Or nosotros tin believe inwards ourselves. By chance, it mightiness plough out nosotros are real."

Another keen quote from this chapter is 1 from Turing's 1950 paper: "In attempting to build such machines nosotros should non endure irreverently usurping His ability of creating souls, whatsoever to a greater extent than than nosotros are inwards the procreation of children: rather nosotros are, inwards either case, instruments of His volition providing mansions for the souls that He creates" (31).

I would humbly suggest that engineering should non fill upward that void inwards us that nosotros own got traditionally filled amongst spirituality. It is non equivalent. It, inwards itself, volition non uplift us. The inquiry is, however, whether or non nosotros tin assert our humanness over as well as to a higher house technological values, as well as inwards plough observe ourselves reflected inwards our technology.