Emotions are the key, they are the most complex and diverse of all the forces in nature. In today's day and age as we try to study consciousness, we attempt to design machines to emulate human thinking and emotion. But, algorithms and chemical reactions are not the same as the human brain. Machines can predict, analyze and ideate. Machines cannot emote in an autonomous manner (yet). Biological consciousness might be responsible for firing certain neurons to make us smile, but the correspondence of the stimulus and the reaction is one yet to be precisely modeled. Animals and humans both display basic emotions of pain, anger and such that are necessary for survival. These emotions are fairly easy to understand and replicate. They are mental responses to physical experiences. But, there are more complex emotions that can be classified as moral emotions that are only seen in certain species, humans being one of them. Spirituality and ethics are the construct of an advanced human mind. There is much we need to understand before we model the mechanisms of moral emotions. The genetic or biological origin of profound thought is a mystery to us. We have a long way to go before a machine is able to philosophize.
Emotions are underrated. Moral emotions are the cornerstone of civilization. The Age of Reason and bigger brains certainly birthed modern science by asking the right questions, but remember it was the poets and philosophers who were the forefathers of science. Thought was not just thought, it was religion. The greats wrote volumes and volumes of their thoughts down on paper. They were revered and respected. Thinkers were freedom fighters. Writers inspired masses and influenced on a scale that was large despite the absence of the world wide web. Emotions guided the progress of humanity.
Logic is considered superior to emotion today and I can see why that is the case. In the contemporary world, progress means new technology, greater productivity or longer lives. Science can help humanity today achieve their current standards of progress. And in this world where computer scientists are coveted, logic rules. Logic is born out of reason, and it can be verified using our senses. Modern science is based on experimental design and the empirical knowledge of the world is the most commonly understood and accepted form of knowledge. We believe what we can see. For many, faith is the answer to most of what we cannot explain. As far as emotion (or sentiment) is considered, it does not have a significant place in modern science. Some of the poets and philosophers were responsible for drawing distinct lines between reason, sentiment and faith. But, without delving too deep into the nitty-gritty of metaphysics, I claim that logic was born out of the "desire to know". I mean to say that logic would not be born had the philosophers of old not felt deeply about the absence of knowledge. Logic is not innate, emotion is. And moral emotions were responsible for the quest for universal truths.
As we seek to train machines to replace human cognition, we must first strive to develop our moral emotions. We can train computers to model war scenarios using game theoretic principles, but how do we code ethics? If we as humans do not agree on the issue of capital punishment, would we be able to design machines that do? How do we prioritize individual thought versus collective thought? I would love to see artificial intelligence problems where we could train an algorithm with every philosophical theory and its rebuttal, and let it spew out answers to moral conundrums. I recently heard a podcast about how our perception of suffering can guide lawmakers and scientists alike; the fact that animals suffer can motivate animal right laws, while the question of whether robots should be trained to suffer is greatly debated among researchers. Modeling the emotion of suffering can help us understand it better perhaps, but it might be at the cost of normalizing the infliction of suffering onto others. Emotions are intricately woven into these complex problems. Yet, there is a lack of respect for human emotion in the world today.
I would call it consciousness, but I think emotion fits the bill. Elephants feel loss, is it their consciousness that makes them do so? Is spirituality coded in our genes or is it born of our senses? The definition of consciousness is tricky; the very nature of consciousness is unclear. Will advanced computation create artificial consciousness or is it an evolutionary process? The search for the Beyond is rooted deep in our consciousness, but we have yet to employ machines for our spiritual quest. Computers perform operations more efficiently than humans and if consciousness is born out of the computational capabilities of the human brain, then consciousness in machines could be achieved. But what if it is not? It can be something completely different as well, a new dimension or it might be the tool that helps life on Earth unearth truths about the universe. Consciousness is hard to grasp, but emotion is easy. Emotion comes naturally.
Emotion has a lot of power to shape our perception of reality. The etiology of mental health troubles is unknown; there could be genetic causes or environmental causes or both that play a role in the malfunction of certain thought processes. The study of our emotions will only equip us better to tackle mental health issues in others and in ourselves. Stress is an underlying cause of many ailments of the body. Psychosomatic disorders are also a common problem these days. Learning to control our emotions will help us deal with such obstacles.
We need to harness the power of emotions. Learn about our happiness, understand ourselves better. Try to solve metaphysical puzzles. Appreciate reality in a different way. Emotions can hold leaders responsible, can mold the economy of countries and can help each individual in their personal lives. Understanding emotions will help model them better, and even lead to answers about consciousness. Every scientific problem we solve using machine learning, artificial intelligence, experimental design, methodical research and the human mind is important in its own right. The contribution of science to the world is immense. Supplementing that with philosophical insight, ethical regulations, spiritual inquisition and empathy will add value to the work and drive progress further.
Emotions are underrated. Moral emotions are the cornerstone of civilization. The Age of Reason and bigger brains certainly birthed modern science by asking the right questions, but remember it was the poets and philosophers who were the forefathers of science. Thought was not just thought, it was religion. The greats wrote volumes and volumes of their thoughts down on paper. They were revered and respected. Thinkers were freedom fighters. Writers inspired masses and influenced on a scale that was large despite the absence of the world wide web. Emotions guided the progress of humanity.
Logic is considered superior to emotion today and I can see why that is the case. In the contemporary world, progress means new technology, greater productivity or longer lives. Science can help humanity today achieve their current standards of progress. And in this world where computer scientists are coveted, logic rules. Logic is born out of reason, and it can be verified using our senses. Modern science is based on experimental design and the empirical knowledge of the world is the most commonly understood and accepted form of knowledge. We believe what we can see. For many, faith is the answer to most of what we cannot explain. As far as emotion (or sentiment) is considered, it does not have a significant place in modern science. Some of the poets and philosophers were responsible for drawing distinct lines between reason, sentiment and faith. But, without delving too deep into the nitty-gritty of metaphysics, I claim that logic was born out of the "desire to know". I mean to say that logic would not be born had the philosophers of old not felt deeply about the absence of knowledge. Logic is not innate, emotion is. And moral emotions were responsible for the quest for universal truths.
As we seek to train machines to replace human cognition, we must first strive to develop our moral emotions. We can train computers to model war scenarios using game theoretic principles, but how do we code ethics? If we as humans do not agree on the issue of capital punishment, would we be able to design machines that do? How do we prioritize individual thought versus collective thought? I would love to see artificial intelligence problems where we could train an algorithm with every philosophical theory and its rebuttal, and let it spew out answers to moral conundrums. I recently heard a podcast about how our perception of suffering can guide lawmakers and scientists alike; the fact that animals suffer can motivate animal right laws, while the question of whether robots should be trained to suffer is greatly debated among researchers. Modeling the emotion of suffering can help us understand it better perhaps, but it might be at the cost of normalizing the infliction of suffering onto others. Emotions are intricately woven into these complex problems. Yet, there is a lack of respect for human emotion in the world today.
I would call it consciousness, but I think emotion fits the bill. Elephants feel loss, is it their consciousness that makes them do so? Is spirituality coded in our genes or is it born of our senses? The definition of consciousness is tricky; the very nature of consciousness is unclear. Will advanced computation create artificial consciousness or is it an evolutionary process? The search for the Beyond is rooted deep in our consciousness, but we have yet to employ machines for our spiritual quest. Computers perform operations more efficiently than humans and if consciousness is born out of the computational capabilities of the human brain, then consciousness in machines could be achieved. But what if it is not? It can be something completely different as well, a new dimension or it might be the tool that helps life on Earth unearth truths about the universe. Consciousness is hard to grasp, but emotion is easy. Emotion comes naturally.
Emotion has a lot of power to shape our perception of reality. The etiology of mental health troubles is unknown; there could be genetic causes or environmental causes or both that play a role in the malfunction of certain thought processes. The study of our emotions will only equip us better to tackle mental health issues in others and in ourselves. Stress is an underlying cause of many ailments of the body. Psychosomatic disorders are also a common problem these days. Learning to control our emotions will help us deal with such obstacles.
We need to harness the power of emotions. Learn about our happiness, understand ourselves better. Try to solve metaphysical puzzles. Appreciate reality in a different way. Emotions can hold leaders responsible, can mold the economy of countries and can help each individual in their personal lives. Understanding emotions will help model them better, and even lead to answers about consciousness. Every scientific problem we solve using machine learning, artificial intelligence, experimental design, methodical research and the human mind is important in its own right. The contribution of science to the world is immense. Supplementing that with philosophical insight, ethical regulations, spiritual inquisition and empathy will add value to the work and drive progress further.