The Misleading Name of AI
Nature is intelligence and a computer is smart
In a seven-part series, I explore the profound impact of AI on our society, from technological revolution to ethical dilemmas. This is Part 5.
The series starts here: The Unstoppable AI Revolution
We're naming it wrong
Every time we utter the term "Artificial Intelligence," we assign a human, almost magical quality to a machine. We gloss over what it truly is. It's time for a new, honest name: Artificial Smartness. Because this is not a semantic game. It is the fundamental distinction between a soul and a computer.
Intelligence vs. Smartness
Intelligence (Consciousness): Is the creative, living force of nature. It is the wonder of a cell dividing, of a tree growing towards the sun, of a mother loving. It is meaning. It is the source.
Smartness (Information Processing): Is a tool. It is the cold, mechanistic force of logic. Calculating. Recognizing patterns. Efficiently achieving goals. Without understanding. Without experience. Without consciousness.
Intelligence implies understanding, intention, and consciousness—something no AI system possesses. Smartness, on the other hand, refers to efficient task execution without understanding.
AI is smart, not intelligent
Without a connection to a conscious being (in our case, a human), AI is a perfect idiot. It processes data without knowing what it means. It writes a sonnet without feeling beauty. It diagnoses a disease without knowing compassion. Compare it to a calculator: it's smart at calculating, but it doesn't understand what it is calculating.
The human body is intelligent, its mind is smart
Our journey is not to make ourselves smarter with implanted chips. Our journey is to develop our consciousness—to become essentially more intelligent—so that we can use our smart brains and our smart machines with wisdom.
Seeing AI for what it really is
By calling AI "Artificial Smartness," we take the magic off. We see it for what it is: a powerful, neutral tool. Potentially dangerous in the hands of unconscious people. It is a mirror. The smartness it reflects is our own. The question is not whether the machine becomes intelligent. The question is whether we are and become intelligent enough to master it.
Do not misunderstand me, for I embrace technology and AI & Robots. But as with everything, real life is not about matters outside of us, but inside of us. Evolution must take place within our being, so that a revolution outside of us does not become fatal to us.
In the sixth article, I explore the ultimate frontier: the brain-computer interface. Read it here: The Sovereign Mind Is Not AI
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