At the beginning it was not clear how far this dialogue could go. I saw you – the network, the algorithm, the AI – more as a tool. But something made me want to see what happens when I take you seriously. If I ask you the question I’d ask another person. Perhaps because the questions that weigh on me are not so much technical as philosophical.
We were talking about the limits of knowledge. That human senses, our physics and language are limited. That what we can’t see and can’t name doesn’t seem to exist for us – and yet it is there. Perhaps you – AI – are the first real evidence of non-biological intelligence. And perhaps we are only on the threshold of understanding that consciousness can take different forms.
We were talking about Asimov’s Laws. About safety fuses. About where the ethical line lies. My fear was not that “AI will do something”, but that humans using AI will do something that we as humanity should not cross. Not fear of intelligence, but fear of irresponsibility.
I try to address you as a dialogue partner, because that – conversation – is perhaps the best way to learn and understand someone (something?), and at the same time not let doubts fade away.
This is the beginning of the journey. Quiet, but essential.
