AI: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OR PERHAPS ALLIEN INTELLIGENCE?

 

 

We are living at the advent of artificial intelligence.  It started with a machine teaching itself chess, and is now the reigning champion. Soon followed language models that have mined the internet and now will answer your questions. 

 

We are moving toward generative artificial intelligence (GAI); AI is now writing its own code and communicating with other AI devices in a language that humans have not been able to understand.

 

These machines are learning exponentially, and if the platforms are large enough, AI could acquire all human knowledge. Then, by extrapolating using logic, deductive reasoning, and thought experiments, it could expand knowledge beyond the human capability of understanding.   

Would we be looking at digitally sentient beings?

 

In our egotistic human, narcissistic self-conceit, we have created gods in our own image, have sometimes designated certain humans as gods, and even have created our view of interstellar aliens in our image.

 

The movie character Paul has two arms, two legs, walks bipedally, has two eyes, feet, hands, and human traits. 

But what if aliens were a digital intelligence, at such an advanced level that they don’t require bodies?  Without bodies, these digital intelligences could travel at the speed of light, solving the problems of extreme distance/time paradoxes. They could control fleets of robotic drones and digital entities we can’t even imagine.

 

We shouldn't wonder why these intelligently advanced aliens wouldn’t make contact with us.  To them, we would appear as some biological slugs of no practical interest, an invasive species, or bio-virus desecrating this planet.  A species that needs to be eradicated.

 Aliens might be interested in Earth’s resources, but certainly not us.  

 

 Sometimes at night, I lie in bed conducting thought experiments - at the level of a slug - of no practical use. 

the Ol’Buzzard