Written by: Christoffel Sneijders, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
In the resplendent landscape of modern technology, artificial intelligence (AI) has become a towering mountain, casting long shadows of anxiety and concern.
The murmurs of AI-induced job losses resonate in the hearts of millions, sparking fear and trepidation. It seems hard to reconcile with the vibrant optimism around the technological age. Still, a comforting reality persists – we, as humans, possess a constellation of unique qualities that AI, regardless of its sophistication, can never emulate.
Allow me to provide an illustrative example of what humans can do that AI simply cannot replicate.
Consider the experience of entering a room filled with people, be it a family celebration or a gathering of friends. As you step into that space, you can often sense the atmosphere immediately, is it not? Whether it's a heated discussion, underlying disagreements, or simply an air of animosity, humans possess an innate ability to perceive these subtle cues.
If your answer is yes, as it likely is for most of you, then you have experienced the remarkable quality of human sensing intuition. AI will always lack this ability to sense and perceive the subtle nuances of human interactions.
Undeniably, AI possesses impressive capabilities. It can provide answers based on vast databases, delivering information with unparalleled efficiency.
When faced with the choice between an AI lawyer armed with comprehensive legal knowledge of all the cases and textbooks of the last 200 years and a human lawyer who has spent years studying and understanding precedents, it may seem not more than logical to favour the AI. Humans simply cannot compete with the speed and efficiency of data gathering and analysis demonstrated by AI in such areas.
But who would you choose if we talked about addressing the case for a jury, sensing all the jury's reactions?
The human lawyer who can “smell” the room, the jury, and Judge or the AI lawyer? I dare to bet this part will remain a human act. AI will never have the ability the “sense” the room.
AI falls short when it comes to utilising our other senses in various professional contexts, such as taste, smell, touch, and overall sensory perception.
Do we really believe that 30 years of AI development can overtake 500 million years of evolution?
What has evolution provided us with that will always set us apart and embodies humans' advantage over AI?
The answer is that we possess not just one but three brains. Of course, we are familiar with the brain housed within our skulls, but we also have intelligence residing in our heart and gut.
This multi-brain system offers a distinct advantage over artificial intelligence as these three wisdom centres have evolved over millions of years and operate in tandem with our environment.
When we refer to "gut feelings," it extends beyond mere statistics. Our gut instinct encompasses a deeper understanding of the environment, relying on energy, intuition, and the interplay between our brains.
Our Gut Brain plays a crucial role in our survival, generating neurotransmitters and hormones that activate our fight-or-flight response, regulate desire, and dictate our hunger and thirst. This intricate system, composed of 500 million brain cells communicating with the 100 billion brain cells in our head, also interacts with the heart, which is responsible for our social bonds and the release of oxytocin, the "love hormone."
This intricate communication network, rooted in millions of years of evolution, cannot be replicated by AI, no matter how advanced it becomes.
When we think of actual achievements, how many people do you know who went against the odds and made it happen?
Many successes are based on this principle.
What will AI do when a topic shows a 99% fall and 1% success rate? Most probably go for the 99% success rate. This is an area where humans excel. We dare to decide to sail against the wind, follow our passion and even make it happen against all odds.
Because how can AI ever compete with our gut feeling?
Moreover, our multiple Brains are not solely based on logical or statistical analysis. They incorporate information from our environment, including the energy we emit and receive from others. Nature, for example, emanates a specific energy frequency of 7.83 Hz, which is absent in the bustling energy of a city. This energy system influences our perception and decision-making, a feat beyond the reach of AI.
Although AI may be capable of replicating essential human social interaction, attempting to match the sophistication of our adult sensing, social and cognitive abilities is an insurmountable challenge.
To illustrate this with another example: in Lisa Barret Feldman's book “How Emotions are Made”, we can see that the accuracy of observation of facial expressions to predict a person's emotion does not exceed 33%. As her research shows, there are no valid standard facial expressions for emotions.
If we cannot standardise how we interpret facial expressions in emotions, how on heavens and earth can AI do that?
The interpretations we assign to our sensations are subjective and often elusive, posing a challenge even for AI. As humans, we struggle to interpret our own physical and emotional states accurately. In light of this, it becomes clear that AI, relying on data and algorithms, cannot fully comprehend and address the intricacies of our human experiences.
This is another area where we humans genuinely excel. The genuine human connection extends beyond language and logical operations to encompass the richness of sensory experiences that AI cannot replicate. The sensation of touch, pressure, and nuanced emotions challenge AI's capabilities. Furthermore, our ten fingers can sense multiple and independent sensations and feelings and perform these tasks simultaneously — a feat beyond AI's grasp.
To delve further into the biological aspect, let's consider the remarkable workings of a single cell. Each cell possesses thousands of receptors that constantly sense internal and external cues, including neurotransmitters, blood pressure, and even energy and light emitted by plants and other organisms. The intricacies of this cellular system, present in our 100 trillion body cells with their interconnectedness and communication, far surpass what AI can comprehend or replicate.
Having said all of this, what is the most significant risk associated with artificial intelligence?
It is not that AI is more intelligent. It lies in our reliance on habitual procedures, which consume the least energy, a biological survival mechanism.
In our early days on this earth, If we chased a meal but moved too slowly, something else caught the meal and ate it first. If we burned up energy fleeing from a potential threat that never arrived, we wasted resources they might have needed later. And nowadays, our three brains consume 35% of our energy. ¹ ²
So energy efficiency was and is critical to survival.
So we became masters in thinking fast, as Daniel Kahneman describes in his book “Thinking Fast and Slow”.
Research shows that 95 percent of our behaviours are habitual or occur in response to a strong external stimulus. Only 5 per cent of our choices are consciously self-selected. ³
We often succumb to the allure of quick answers, just as most of us trust the first page of Google search results without further exploration.
There is undoubtedly a biological-driven temptation to trust AI without critically engaging in slow, deliberate thinking processes, as that requires much energy.
This fast-thinking process, driven by our need to conserve energy, should be our biggest concern and focus point when discussing the danger of AI.
So, rather than succumbing to fear and apprehension regarding AI, we should focus on leveraging its potential in what it can assist us with, data gathering, analysis, to advising.
For us, it is critical to start utilising the full potential of our three "brains."
Invest in our education systems which nowadays often prioritise cognitive development, emphasising thinking processes alone. By educating ourselves to use our three Brains to their total capacity and integrating our thoughts and emotions, we can tap into a second system of thinking coined by Daniel Kahneman as "thinking slow." This enables us to navigate around the shortcuts and basic answers often provided by AI.
Additionally, recent insights into how trauma resides in the body and how emotions are not easily reducible to standard procedures further emphasise the unique intelligence beyond our cognitive faculties. The interpretations we assign to our sensations are subjective and often elusive, posing a challenge even for AI. As humans, we struggle to interpret our own physical and emotional states accurately. In light of this, it becomes clear that AI, relying on data and algorithms, cannot fully comprehend and address the intricacies of our human experiences.
In conclusion, while AI continues to advance and reshape various domains, it is vital to acknowledge the inherent superiority of human intelligence. Our ability to perceive, sense, and connect on multiple levels, combined with the complexity of our multi-brain system, renders us uniquely suited to navigate the world. By leveraging AI as a tool and tapping into our human strengths, we can embrace its benefits while retaining our distinct advantages as intelligent beings.
If you're craving more mind-expanding content, dive into Christoffel Sneijders' insightful work, "Relationships? Which Brain is Talking?”
And, if you're curious about your own 3 Brains (Head, Heart, Gut) preference, take the free test here.
Stay curious, my friends, and embrace the uniqueness of your Head, Heart and Gut. Cheers! Christoffel
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Christoffel Sneijders, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Christoffel is an innovative, multidisciplinary expert in human behavior and change who motivates, inspires and challenges people to transform. His passion, authenticity, empathy and versatile knowledge in hypnosis, NLP, psychotherapy, burnout, PTSD, anxiety, trauma/grief are vital to helping his global clients create the life and outcomes they long for. He’s worked with over 10,000 people in the past 32 years. He is the author of How Men and Women Fit, a book that brings the clear understanding of how our 3 brains operate in relationships at home and at work.
References:
[1] https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/bodyphysics/chapter/human-metabolism/
[3] https://hbr.org/2011/01/six-keys-to-changing-almost-an#:~:text=Fully 95 percent of our,choices are consciously self-selected.
