Opinion: Artificial intelligence, part I

From the beginning of time, it seems that the progression of evolution has been a quest for greater intelligence which enables creatures to deal more effectively with the rest of the world. At the peak of the evolutionary ladder is Homo Sapiens (“Thinking Man”). So far.

Homo Sapiens not only had a more complex brain for data processing than other creatures, but the species also developed tools to transmit knowledge and preserve it. Our ancestors drew images on cave walls, utilized storytelling, and developed writing. They also created means for helping with counting and more complex mathematics. The abacus emerged in different parts of the world, independently. Then came mechanical devices.

In his thought-provoking book, Homo Deus (Godlike Man), Yuval Noah Harari, history professor at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, imagines humanity as a gigantic and sophisticated system of data processing. If that’s true, then it follows that the best data processor will eventually rise to the top of the evolutionary pyramid.