"Ummm..." Avatar

            Computers are everywhere. Technology has truly taken over the world we live in. We can ask our phone a question, and it can answer back with a correct response. We can Google the answer to almost any question we have, regardless of where we are. Even five years ago this seemed impossible. It seemed crazy to even consider. Computers are a boatload of knowledge, and I’m not sure how our parents made it through school without them. However, sometimes it is scary to think about how much they know. I have a running joke with my boyfriend that Siri, the annoying little voice on the IPhone, is going to take over the world. It’s a joke obviously, but still… could it be possible that technology could surpass the human race?

            Brian Christian’s The Most Human Human features a test that determines whether or not computers can really think. I think the book provides a fantastic analysis of the differences between humankind and computers. After all, sometimes in today’s world it seems as if there is very little separating computers and humans. Computers have a database of information, can speak, and can even embody human characteristics if programmed that way. However, one specific point Christian makes in his book, which I think truly separates computers and humans, is that while computers may be able to handle many things, “mere mumbling destroys them.”

            It is natural for humans to mumble when caught off guard or when searching for answers. It just happens. Regardless of how many times we are told by teachers, parents, and bosses to reframe from using the word “um,” we still do so because of how natural it is. However, regardless of how frowned upon the dreaded word “um” is, it is something that technology cannot compute no matter how hard it tries. In his book, Christian cites examples of answering questions given by the chatbot, ELIZA, with words such as “er…” and “um…” ELIZA is automatically confused by these responses and cannot answer appropriately. The same thing, ironically, occurs when speaking to Siri. If you start mumbling nonsense, Siri gets “frustrated” and doesn’t understand how to respond at all.

            I think this simple fact proves superiority of humans over computers. Mumbling is a normal part of human makeup. We get confused, embarrassed, caught off guard, etc. and show it through mumbling. Mumbling is a natural human reaction, and ironically, this natural human reaction causes the downfall of computers. While computers can be programmed to have human knowledge and actions, they cannot “learn” natural human reactions. It’s impossible, and these natural reactions separate humans from computers and hinder their ability to think.

            The 2009 movie, Avatar, is interesting because it depicts a world in which creatures, equal to humans in every way, reside, live, and thrive. It’s interesting because when I first watched this movie, I automatically assumed the Na’vi would have some disadvantage to the humans, but they didn’t. Ironically, it wasn’t their insane intelligence that far surpassed the human race that made me think this way but was, instead, their reactions and emotions that mimic those of humans. The Na’vi feel love and betrayal, just as humans do. In the end, it is not their intelligence that saves them, but their wildlife friends they have nurtured and Eywa, the goddess they worship. These very human characteristics- religion and nurture- keep the Na’vi alive, just as very human reactions, such as mumbling, allow us to continue to confuse technology.