Final: Connection and communication

As technology is progressing, and we get to the stage where we presumably will not be able to recognise an A.I. from a robot, we are asking ourselves what exactly it means to be human and what constitutes our humanity? Brian Christian in his book ‘The Most Human Human’ looks at the different aspects of how we behave and what separates us from technology. This came about when he was asked to participate in the Turing test. The Turing test is a test for intelligence in a computer, requiring that a human being should be unable to distinguish the machine from another human being by using the replies to questions put to both. In preparation for this, Christian talks to people who are experts in different fields such as philosophers, psychologists, relationship experts and more. After reading “The Most Human Human”, the two central ideas of what it is that makes us human, is connection to one another and communication.

“The more helpful our phones get, the harder it is to be ourselves.” Usually I would agree with this. Phones I think distance us from people around us and we lose connection even though phones and social media supposedly lets us be connected all of the time. I had to rethink my idea on this after watching the movie ‘Her’. Yes, people were more separated from each other in the film, but they seemed to be more themselves with their new technology than ever before with anyone or anything else. Therefore, going off what Christian said, our phones and technology make it harder to be ourselves with each other, but not necessarily with the technology. I do think about the benefits and downsides to this. Like in “Her”, people became friends with their A.I.’s, and sometimes more than that. Theodore was very unhappy, he wasn’t spending time with his friends and was going through a tough divorce. Forming a relationship with Samantha, actually changed this. He was happier, saw his friends more, went out on double dates, and started to live again. So, would technology separate us more?

I see a problem with the situation of Samantha and Theodore. Theodore became dependent on Samantha for everything, and expected her to be there at any moment, day or night. Yes, he became more social again, but he didn’t rely on anyone else, or go to them because he needed the conversation or connection. He had all of that in the form of his A.I. He didn’t need a human girlfriend because Samantha filled that role. Forgetting what happened at the end of the film with the A.I.’s leaving, they created a situation where humans almost didn’t need each other. And this is terrible. In the film, humans didn’t even know how to interact anymore without the technology. The film showed Theodore becoming more himself again after Samantha entered his life. But can humans be more themselves if other humans are not involved? Humans are social creatures and throughout history it has been proven again and again that we thrive when we work together and stay connected as a community. Now referring to the end of the film when the A.I.’s left. Humans couldn’t rely on the technology in the long run. They were abandoned. Even though humans do a great job of starting wars, ignoring the poor or starving, and just not being the kindest we could be, we cannot survive alone. “What a familiarity with the construction of Turing test bots had begun showing me was that we fail — again and again — to actually be human with other humans, so maddeningly much of the time. And it had begun showing me how we fail — and what to do about it.” Humans must communicate with each other more than a computer. We cannot rely on technology for our basic needs. We need to remember how to be human with each other.

Another aspect Christian discusses is communication. “We go through digital life, in the twenty first century, with our guards up. All communication is a Turing test. All communication is suspect.” The main theme in ‘The Most Human Human’ is the Turing test. This test is essentially a test of communication. You are trying to pick out the human based on a conversation. “If poetry represents the most expressive way of using a language, it might also, arguably, represent the most human." The amazing proficiency that computers display in many contexts depends on their superior ability to think digitally, using information that has been broken down into discrete bits. In contrast, what is distinctive of poetry and for that matter, of human language in general, is the vital role of context and allusion, which cannot be broken down into separate units of information. Human conversations are not composed of a finite number of particular exchanges. They take place against a background of tacit understandings, which often make what is not spoken as important as what is said. A film that does a great job of showing communication is the film Avatar. The Na’vi are not human, but humans have nearly the same abilities for communicating. We can’t quite communicate telepathically with our planet, but the rest is similar, we just don’t take advantage of our ability to communicate. We now use phones and technology for everything. The Na’vi make an effort to really see one another. This is their main philosophy. Not to just physically see, but emotionally. Humans have this ability too if they made the effort. One thing that Brian Christian says is “Success in distinguishing when a person is lying and when a person is telling the truth is highest when … the interviewer and interviewee come from the same cultural background and speak the same language.” It is not jut the words that make up communication. It is how we express them. People from Ireland for example have one way of saying something that could mean something completely different in America. This is what separates robots and humans. We have grown to have a certain understanding of how words are said and how that effects the context. If you combine that with body language, expressions and everything else, we have this very special unique way of communicating.

Brian Christian did a wonderful job of talking about different aspects of humanity and exploring how the Turing test actually reminds us of what being human is. For me, his points on communication and connecting with one another are the most important when exploring our humanity.