Are we facing the end of humanism?
Technological development is changing everything. The human being (dynamic or not), is trapped in the web of the maelstrom of technology that constantly revolutionizes its own paradigms.
Humanity, as it was thought, is being modified in all its aspects, from the way in which it comes into the world (and even before it, due to the possibility of choice and selection), to the way in which it relates to the world. The human being has given birth to a new mediation, a new layer of mathematical interface (according to the position of E. Sadín) and with it, humans now live in the world, with a material product that has a certain margin of decision. It is a third-party, a new God who looks at us, who knows everything about us, who can guess our desires, who can rule every moment of our lives. But is this third-party really someone? Is it really smart?
How should humanity be conceived, given that technology competes with us and has become our equal? Can the “rational animal” continue to be the difference?
Heidegger has already answered this question: ontologically Dasein (which we could, in a simplistic way, identify with the human being) is the only being that can transcend the world of tools and technique. As M. Gabriel says, the human being is the only animal that does not want to be an animal.
But we cannot be naive and oblivious to the technological changes that exist and are a reality. The vast majority have no control over them, thus raising the question of whether the “advancement” of technology is random or directed. It is a bit naïve to think that technology advancements are only moved by economics, because, what could be hidden behind them?
The task of Philosophy in the empire of technology must continue to focus on these questions, to avoid the catastrophes that the consumption of natural resources thought of as a mere stock of energy for consumption can lead to. Philosophy must keep asking itself to intervene in this inertia, opening new perspectives, including new nuances, making technological development more humane, so that artificial intelligence does not override natural intelligence, which is our most precious gift.
Author: Rigoberto Malca La Rosa
Collaborator: Hernán Chiquichano
What do you think about the role of philosophy and human reason in the era of artificial intelligence?
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