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Earlier in the week on this programme, Sir Michael Parkinson’s son defended the use of AI to recreate his fathers voice for a new podcast series. Virtually Parkinson has been produced with the support of Sir Michael’s family and his son Mike said that he ` really wanted it to be clear to listeners that it is an` AI iteration’.
Over the last few years, Ai has entered our lives in leaps and bounds. But its also brought new ethical dilemmas of how disruptive or creative it can be for our jobs, our minds and perhaps increasingly our own sense of uniqueness as human beings. Scientists have drawn parallels between us and computer programming; but if we are more than just code, what is it that sets us apart? We think its our emotions, flaws, our capacity for warmth, empathy and deep connection, things that machines simply can’t replicate. But if ai reflects both our intellect and our values, it may just be a matter of time before an ai system wakes up to the first sparks of not just simulating emotion but feeling emotion.
What I find intriguing is how Ai is challenging the way we think we can control our own mortality. Technology already allows people to be so called ` reunited’ with their loved ones through digital resurrections where Ai can reproduce the voice, image, and behavior of those who’ve died. And if we capture enough data during someone’s life, we could keep them alive indefinitely after their physical brain has gone. With millions of us on social media talking about our lives everyday, data capture has never been easier.
The promise of a life beyond is not new but central to the monotheistic faiths and imagination. In the qur’an, Adam is seduced by Iblis partly by the promise that eating from the forbidden tree will grant him immortality. Whatever immortality means today, it reflects human desire - our ability to exercise free will, to be curious, remembered and push boundaries - as the Indian poet philosopher Allama Iqbal said, it is desire which `tears away all the veils.’
As with much of technology, the aim is to make life quicker, smarter and easier – all of it may be true. But as we strive for technological precision and perfection, we risk losing control. The question we face is not about the future potential of Ai - that’s a given – but rather the risks it poses to our own human uniqueness.