The Human Resistance Report

To put it different way, Will man evolve into a machine or will machines evolve into man? The race is on and both are closer than ever before to transcending to the next level.

It’s a question we should pose now, because at some point in time, we will blur the line between the two and will never have known when it first happened. When you take into consideration the rate at which we are developing new technologies that enable computers to act more human, like using artificial intelligence, facial recognition, and the ability to navigate, maneuver, and negotiate obstacles, it’s easy to speculate that one day, every human trait or capability will be duplicated by intellegent machines.

On the flip side of that, we have technologies that are allowing humans to become more machine like. Starting with modest devices like the humble hearing aids, and ending up with futuristic outfits like the “Luke Arm”. Most poeple have seen the Luke arm by now, a mind controlled prosthetic arm that can be controlled with precision to restore mobility for amputees, allowing them to lift and drink glass of water, shave, or even pick up and hold a kitten. We are now seeing a future that asks us to shed the biological body completely, save for maybe our brains , which we will have learned to interface with computers, robots, and just about anything else that has a circuit board.

Other than the brain itself, most every part of the human body can be exchanged for a synthetic replacement. When you can shop for the perfect body, laser sculpted to your exact specifications and proportions, free from biological decay or aging, free of disease, with the strength of a tank, and made from near unbreakable metal alloy, why settle for this bag of meat our ancestors have been confined to for the last 200,000 years.

As it becomes more common place to transplant your brain into a new body, we will surely see people who want to “pimp their ride” with extreme body modification and will step away from the more traditional human shape, and start developing and inhabiting bodies of many styles, types and shapes. Just like people like to mod their computer cases, we may see body mods with the likes of R2D2, a Cylon Raider, Wall-E , or whatever creative and seemingly crazy ideas people decide to implement. We could also see, for example, someone who has tribal patterns etched into their exoskeleton like tattoos. But instead of using ink, they simply cut away the “skin” to leave a metal pattern behind. Others may still choose a humanoid shape, but choose not to have any skin and go with an all metal body. New skins will require only a touch of a button to load up a predesigned color or pattern so that you could change the way you look in an instant. It will give a whole new meaning to downloading the latests skins.

So now you have a human mind with the body of a machine. Great, let’s looks at what’s happening with robots now. Artificial intelligence is now in full development, and in our future scenario, it has been all but perfected. With Super AI surpassing human intelligence with the ease of a calculator, machines are being upgraded to be more like their human counterparts. Because we have been perfecting stem cell technologies and cloning, we can now grow human brains from little cells and then interface those machines, we will be able to actually grow humans with built in artificial intelligence.

So here we stand at the crossroads where the two interconnect. Standing facing each other are two perfect twins. One is a human body grown from cells in a lab, with artificial intelligence built into it. Facing him is a machine replica, duplicated in every way to look exactly like the human clone, only this machine has a human brain at its core.

The two play chess and the clone with the AI brain beats the human brain all day long, using sophisticated software to calculate billions of possibilities, outcomes, and percentages. They compete at sporting events and the human brain with the machine body wins relentlessly at every event, with superior strength and dexterity, the result of powerful nano motors and synthesized muscles. Both excel at winning debates against human opponents on a regular basis. Both are capable of mimicking emotions, real or not. Both can appear to understand and show empathy for one another.

As we study the two facing each other, the question is posed: Which is more human? Which is more machine? Is the man a machine, or is the machine a man, or are they both the same thing?

If one killed another, would they be held accountable for murder? Does one have more rights than another? Is one superior to the other? Even corporations get protection under law, being considered a “legal person” for all practical purposes. Will we extend these rights to androids?

Of course questions like these will always lead us back to the question of what makes us human and may even delve into why we exist. Let us agree that no one can really agree entirely on what makes us human, but I think fundamentally speaking, humanity is at its very core is the ability to be self aware and to dream of new ideas and the ability to express them. Unfortunately apes can supposedly do the same thing so where does that lead us, other than into a whole new Darwinian Theory debate.

So what really makes us human? At the physical level, you could break us down, bottle us and label us to get to the root of it. What you are left with is DNA. If we are an animal, and we have DNA that designates us as human animals, then once we can duplicate human DNA but control it with software, can it be considered a human? Or even more relevant, is this a person?

Fast forward hundreds of years into the future and we may find that there is nothing left on the planet that rembles traditional humanity. Once we make the “Final Stride” man and machine will be one and the same – the only question is, who will make the clear and concrete step across the lines of evolution first?

There exists a point in time that is closing in on us that I like to refer to as “The Final Stride”. As humanity continues to evolve, mankind is taking steps towards becoming more machine like. At the same time, machines are exhibiting human traits and are evolving them at astonishing speeds. As we each get closer to each other, we will eventually reach the tipping point, or critical mass. That ‘final stride’ is where man and machine step into and occupy the same space, simply becoming one.

You don’t have to look far to see evidence of the growing trend, proving that people are comfortable with artificial accessories. From the cane to the hearing aid, humans have been upgrading with hardware as far back as time can tell. In the 1940’s with the introduction of pacemakers, we began using what can be loosely defined as artificial intelligence to tell our heart when to beat; and androids have been walking the planet since. We have seen the subtle introductions into everyday life, like in our grandfathers hearing aid – nothing that seems too impressive technology wise until you look at the bionic limbs that are being developed right now, allowing amputees to control a very realistic looking and feeling appendage( like an arm) with the power of thought, as most able bodied people can. To this effect, we see humans sporting bodies with more embedded hardware and even smarter software to help control it.

At the other side of the spectrum, development in the robotics field is growing faster than can be reported, as scores of scientists race to develop the smartest AI and the most realistic androids. Using multitudes of small motors, developers are striving to create a machine that moves as fluidly as the human does and can mimic facial expressions across a wide range of emotions. Software engineers are trying to program a software brain that can outthink a human and trick people into believing that they are conversing with another person when they are really chatting with a sophisticated artificial intelligence program. As it is, it is no longer even considered a feat for a computer to beat a human chess champion.

Eventually, you will have a program smart enough to pass itself off as a human. If this was installed in a human body and could control it, people would believe it to be a human. You could also have a real human, but have replaced every human body part with a mechanical stunt double. Having replaced every part except the brain, you still have a human being, but with an artificial body.

So we enter into the Final Stride, the moment where humans and robots become interchangeable. As easily as hot swapping a hard drive or USB stick, people will be able to install smart devices directly into the human body. Imagine a world, where you simply plug a small device into your hand and suddenly you have a full gaming console with images beamed directly to your retina cords, providing the sharpest 3-D High Definition possible straight to your brain.

A phone built in permanently via a nanoscopic chip just under your jaw. You can simply think most of your conversation, and a small computer will convert your thought to words and transmit it to your caller in your own voice. We wont give it too much thought, after all, it will probably be the just another of the latest and greatest iPhone or BlackBerries models. But more and more, we will be connecting ourselves into the grid, attaching more hardware and upgrades. Because we simply must have the best, we will want brain accelerators and memory recall apps to think quicker and improve our memory. We will teach our brains to store data in tables like databases and to recall images or music by query. Still we are humans, differentiated by the ability to exorcise self awareness, to contemplate life, to create art, and to feel. Even as we dispose of our biological shell for our newer upgraded bodies, we cling to our humanity and live with our emotional pain and pleasure.

Also evolving are computers that learn the way a human brain does. They are built to mimic the human mind that scientists have been unlocking the secrets to for years now. As mankind’s understanding of the mind broadens, we figure out how the brain develops, and what areas control the many complicated aspects of our bodies. With this understanding, comes the ability to recreate its processes. The implications are that over time, this technology will be perfected and we will have the ability to design computers that compute with the complexity of the human brain but the speed of tomorrow’s super computers. There is little doubt that emotions can be recreated, considering the amount of memory and computing power likely to be available. It will be commonplace to have computers and robots running sub programs for emotions like ‘love’ , ‘happiness’, and it is quite possible that self teaching AI will learn to program modules for “anger’, ‘jealousy’, or even ‘hate’. When a computer is capable of loving and hating, has it acquired the element of humanity? If it was in a human body? And survived for several years living as a human, developing relationships, forming bonds, contributing to the community. If someone were to come along a “kill” that entity – would that person be guilty of murder?

Here’s a moral dilemma – Inside a barn there are two beings. One is a human, but has many parts replaced by hardware such as arms, feet, lungs, heart, an eye, and his nose. His brain is human and completely organic, except for a few neurological upgrades. Also in the barn, is a human prototype, with mostly organic body parts, grown in a lab. The brain is artificial intelligence, but grown from cells into a predefined brain, indistinguishable from a real brain. Both are functional members of society and work at the same factory doing the same job. Both have emotions and can procreate. The barn is burning and a fireman runs in to save them. He can only save one, but cannot tell which is which. The question is, which life is more valuable?

Is a human that is born more valuable than a human form grown in the lab?

Most people would unquestionable pick the human’s life as more valuable, but if you could not tell which is which, then who would you save? Knowing that if you save the wrong one, a human will have died, while something not quite so human lives. What if the humanoid was renowned heart surgeon who has saved many lives, while the human is a serial killer on death row. Again, which life is more valuable?

Once we make the Final Stride, will we even differentiate the two?