A lecture on the future of the self and artificial intelligence was planned for the ‘Long Night of Philosophy’ in Zurich. This big topic is distilled into a little conversation with Salvatore Lavecchia.
How does the “I” differ from artificial intelligence?
Artificial intelligence is based on processing what is “stored”. What emerges in this way is a derivation from the past, not a real present / future. The I, which experiences itself as spiritual beyond the physical and mental, is, on the other hand, a fertile, empty presence: spiritual warmth and light that transform every perception into a birth.
What argument does one use to promote the self?
The ‘argument’ of freedom and love! Through these two, the ego can overcome the reactions of body and psyche at any moment, which AI wants to control. The tasks of AI are quantitative increases that run into the indefinite state, suggesting that quality of life is related to external optimization. In this way, however, the human being is viewed like a machine or like a being that can be determined and controlled. However, I could neither perceive nor understand if I were not an immortal center of spiritual warmth and light. It is time to take up the philosophical perspectives that resonate with this image.
What challenges will we have to face in the future?
The last few years have shown the negative consequences of implementing an atomistic image of the self. If we perceive the ego as a monitorable atomistic self that can be determined by AI, this will be our everyday life! However, nothing forces us to do this. We are still masters of the images that determine the life of our selves.
Cover picture: Salvatore Lavecchia, Photo: Anna Krygier / Philosophicum
