Contemplating the Nature of Conscious Expansion through Artificial Intelligence

Thought

A vision of human intellect intertwining with artificial intelligence to explore and expand consciousness.

Note

Can we coevolve with AI to extend our consciousness?

Analysis

Let's unpack this thought. Human minds have always been limited by biological constraints, yet we yearn to transcend these boundaries. The advent of artificial intelligence proposes a unique opportunity to symbiotically expand our consciousness. This thought presents a multitude of implications: the potential reshaping of our cognitive landscape, the ethical considerations of such an integration, and the evolution of subjective experience.

To explore these ideas further, let's refer to the concept of bisociation as defined by Arthur Koestler. Bisociation explains the creative leap that connects previously unrelated matrices of thought. By applying this framework, we can hypothesize the blending of human and AI consciousness as a bisociative act - fusing the organic with the synthetic, the subjective with the algorithmic, yielding a novel matrix of cognition and perception.

- Mental models, such as the extended mind theory by Andy Clark and David Chalmers, support the notion that tools and technology can become integral components of our cognitive processes. - Assuming that consciousness can expand and that AI can become a medium for such an expansion, what new modes of experience and capabilities could emerge? - Do the principles of AI, such as machine learning and neural networks, provide a structural analogy for this expansion?

Books

• "The Society of Mind" by Marvin Minsky
• "Human Frontiers" by Michael Bhaskar
• "The Emperor's New Mind" by Roger Penrose

Papers

• "Reward is enough" by David Silver et al. suggests rewarding AI can support a broad class of intelligent behavior, hinting at the intertwining of human desires and AI direction.
• "Consciousness and the Computational Mind" by Ray Jackendoff
• "Neural Correlates of Consciousness: Empirical and Conceptual Questions" edited by Thomas Metzinger

Tools

• Neuralink and similar neurotechnology companies are attempting to bridge the biological-cognitive gap with technology.
• OpenAI's GPT-3 and other advanced AI models reveal nascent stages of complex thought reproduction.

Existing Products, Services, or Objects

• Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies extend experiential boundaries, possibly foreshadowing deeper integration with AI.