Human and AI through McEwan’s Lens

What is the purpose of humanity?

Originally assumed to be the recreation of human life, Ian McEwan redirects this theory down another route. Raising and defending his proposal, “artificial people become like us, then became us, then became more than us, we could never tire them” in his 2019 novel, Machines Like Me. But what does this mean for the human race?

Machines Like Me takes place in a more advanced 1900s where digital communication has already become old news. The new hype that everyone is building around are the super exclusive, human replicated, artificial intelligence. Full sized, fully functioning robots named Adam and Eve.

In many instances, McEwan’s protagonist, Charlie, takes it upon himself to praise the technological milestone that people of this universe have been able to achieve. Calling it, “the triumph of engineering and software design: a celebration of human inequity.”

However, inequity for whom? The human or the AI?

The goal for Adam’s creation was to serve humans as one of the most innovative and powerful, self learning machine. But this self learning is what might lead towards the downfall of humanity.

When AI’s are first introduced into the world it is expected for them to go through the process of adapting to being “alive” much like humans. In a small conversation between owner and AI, Charlie once tells Adam that he feels the need to shut him down. Adam then responds, “not now” because he is in the middle of research attempting to make his own religious decisions and beliefs.

We’ve all seen this kind of route in other forms of literature, media and art. The artificial intelligence, begins to question himself, human authority, and show signs of personality that judges itself to be better than humanity.

But with the objective programming to keeping bettering itself and its inability to grow idle, can AI be blamed?

C.E.O. of SpaceX, Elon Musk claims that artificial intelligence is a lot scarier than humans imagine or credit it to be.

“Humanity’s position on this planet depends on its intelligence,” Says Musk. “So if our intelligence is exceeded, it is unlikely that we will remain in charge of the planet.” Is this similar to what McEwan was referring too in his novel; creating robotic intelligence and letting it overturn the sense of control that humans have now owned since the age of dinosaurs?

Ian McEwan seems to be an author who takes a very lax and control position when he comments on the integration between human’s and AI as becoming almost every day thing.

He mentions that humans already “rehearsed” coming across people who so happen to be smarter than ourselves. AI living among us “won’t be any different,” says McEwan. He even claims that there’s a small possibility it will actually enhance humans rather than challenge or overrule. Learning to coexist would be easier than using tools like Alexa or google home because like your hand, your voice is another common extension of your mind that even might take more effort to use than your hand.  

The peaceful tone that he uses when speaking about the AI provided me with the insight that maybe living with AI might not be so terrible. And not to be selfish, but maybe the early stages before they all join in together and either enslave or eliminate the human race, has potential to be filled with great zeal.

Considering the future of giving rights to robots wouldn’t be out of the question as my optimistic mind advances. Having a known robotic presence in the government, maybe alongside the POTUS, could make AI more comfortable being in our presence.

But I wouldn’t want something like this to be out of fear. A collaborative effort, where we ensure to the AI that we do own them, but we wake them into world for the sake of innovation and peaceful living. If anything they would already have access too all of the fears that we state now prior to them even being commonly around.

It will only be a matter of time before they’re able to create other AI. There’s a chance we won’t have much time after that, but why be pessimistic when the point of all AI is simply to make a better world.  

You can check out what Ian McEwan has to say about his latest novel and the integration between human life and AI below.