What makes us human if AI gets more humane? I´ve asked myself that question like a 100 times over the past few months trying to come up with an answer.. Maybe you feel the same way so if you´re interested in reading my take on this, read on;)
I´m young, but also very damn curious (sometimes too much) so I've spoken to specialists in quantum physics, HUMINT experts, and read some books on what the future might hold for us as human beings - and where the separation from AI truly lies. From experiments where AI is linked to the human nervous system, to Elon Musk's Neuralink project, or Neil Harbisson, who hears colors through an implanted device, all the boundaries are shifting. In California, there are already mini-brains that growing from stem cells. Neurotechnology, bioinformatics and AI are merging more rapidly than ever, and I think half of us (me included) don´t even know about how fast things are progressing?
But where is the line that keeps us uniquely human once these projects reach full maturity? What remains of our essence if even our biological advantage - our bodies, our functions, even our brains - can be copied?
Growing up, I often had dreams that somehow predicted the future - super specific things, like places, people, exact conversations. You know that feeling of déjà vu? Only that I knew I had dreamt it before and had written proof (after I thought I was going crazy I started to keep a dream diary haha). Sometimes I also got strange feelings about people's futures. Like sensing what path they were on, or even stuff as heavy as when and how they might pass away. Yeah, I know how that sounds. A little out there. But honestly, I´m not afraid to say it out loud. Many people had similar experiences, it´s just that few openly talk about it. It's not crazy - it's just being conscious, being open.
And before anyone rolls their eyes - there's actual science exploring these things. Parapsychology isn't all imagination and acting. If you´re still thinking, why is this girl talking about dreams and intuition if she started this text with AI and tech? Just keep on reading a bit longer;)
Here's the twist for me. AI can replicate so many things: logic, analysis, recommendation systems, even emotional cues. Algorithms can now tell us why we might feel a certain way, even faster than most therapists. They can predict our behavior based on patterns. But there's one thing they will never be able to fully copy:
That intangible, human, spiritual side.
That thing we all had as kids, before the noise of the world got too loud - remember that? Associating colors with people. Thinking certain numbers were unlucky. That Monday felt like a 6, and Thursday had a weird vibe. Those invisible strings forming linear paths in our lives that create these hunches and gut feelings about certain people or things, the feelings that can´t be based on certain knowledge or evidence. That invisible sense that there's more going on than what we can explain or measure.
You can train AI to mimic empathy, but you for sure can't code soul. You can tell ChatGPT to write poetry, but it didn´t feel shit when it wrote it. You can model intuition, but you can't expect to download a gut feeling.
And that's where I believe the intersection of spirituality and tech is not only real - it's necessary. No one can deny that AI gets smarter and fed with smart interfaces, empathy and human traits through the absorbation of data processing and interaction with us. The question is no longer what it can do. It's what we choose to protect. And for me, it's that mystical, untouchable part inside every one of us.
Call it intuition. Call it spirit. Call it childhood wonder, I don´t care. Whatever it is, AI won't be able to replace it. And maybe, just maybe, that's the most human thing we've got.