Opinion: Staying human has its advantages

At the risk of sounding like a numbskull who doesn’t believe in climate change, the moon landing or the roundness of the earth, I must say that I don’t always believe in science.

Or, more precisely, scientists.

I certainly believe the scientific method as the best way to search for real-world answers, but sometimes I wonder if those who apply such a method to the biggest questions of our time have blinders on. Seems they too easily discount the unknowns.

For example, artificial intelligence, something that’s been in the news a lot lately. Too many scientists appear to be discounting any reasonable concerns about where it’s going to take us.

The future is being shaped by today’s inventions — and AI is one of the most consequential creations of our time. It’s altogether reasonable to recognize it as a two-edged sword.

And, in my opinion, one side of that sword is much, much sharper than the other side.

Let’s consider the “positive” side first. AI has turned our handheld cell phones into smart phones, aided us in language translations and mechanized all sorts of things, from sorting post office mail to separating our wanted emails from our unwanted ones and even catching spelling and grammar errors in real time, as we write.

In other words, AI has made our lives easier, as long as you don’t mind that little hand-held computer you carry around becoming an appendage to your human body.

But could these conveniences also be dumbing us down?

We no longer have to sweat the details; our computers now do that for us — which leads us to the other, sharper side of our proverbial sword.

Digital technology is taking over our lives. Lose your phone sometime and see what I mean. Or, for the latest cutting-edge technology, check out ChatGPT, a bot (or robot) that can emulate and rearrange your voice into saying things you never actually said, and yet it sounds just like you. Add some video manipulations and you’ve got “deep fakes” that only another computer can analyze and expose as fabricated.

Seems the truth is getting harder and harder to recognize. There goes our democracy.

Another deep cut into our future lies in our own creativity; too many of us are turning that over to technology, too.

ChatGPT is the latest technology to push us a closer to not having to be creative at all, but we’ve been going in that direction for some time now.

Want to compose some music? For years, GarageBand could “help” you do that, but now ChatGPT can actually write the lyrics for you, too. Or how about more studious pursuits, like writing a well-researched term paper? ChatGPT can do that, too (but beware, students, they’re also developing apps to catch you at it).

The old proverb, “Necessity is the mother of invention,” misses the mark in our modern world. Now, invention is the mother of necessity.

Like many of you, I grew up without a cell phone in my pocket; I never even knew I needed one. Now I can’t leave home without it.

My larger point, however, is this: We’re forfeiting what makes us human to expanding technologies, and we don’t even slow down long enough to consider the unexpected consequences.

Modern technology has its advantages, but so does staying human. I think I’ll go with that.

Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange. Contact him at:

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