The Perils of Demystifying Human Intelligence
Created | Updated Sep 27, 2007
How would you like to know one day that human intelligence is no longer sacrosanct because some scientist or philosopher has decoded it? How hard it will be to know that human intelligence and reasoning is a mere process like one executed by a computer program or one as mundane as that of the ubiquitous calculator?
Given the speed of scientific research in this field, such a day cannot be too far away. The exponentially rising speed of computer processors, following the Moore’s Law, and the extent of research in the field of genetics and biosciences, this scenario may soon turn into a reality. The result would be more exciting than any sci-fi novel, more perilous than all Frankenstein put together and perhaps more disheartening than the worst heartbreak.
Human intelligence laid the foundation of technology. All technological advancements that we see today are ultimately the product of human intelligence. What will happen when technology turns around and enhances human intelligence, creating a better-than-human intelligence? More intelligence would go on creating more intelligence and this process would go on till we reach what scientists call ‘the Singularity’. It will work like a computer program that continues to improve its own source code and that too at fast pace. Soon, direct brain-computer interfaces would become a reality and they will be creating the next generation of brain-computer interfaces or, maybe, biologically upgraded humans.
While all this happens (obviously it will not take as long as human evolution, it would still take a few decades for better-than-human intelligence to takeover our planet), what would happen to the 6.5 billion humans living out their lives on Earth? As information about human intelligence would percolate, more and more humans would be directly affected by it. It would be perhaps the first ‘psychological epidemic’ that we have ever suffered from.
Once intelligence is decoded, our own existential thoughts would get a severe jolt because, without our intellectual veneer, we would be exposed to the realization of our animalistic behavior. We would suddenly realize that we are certainly not much different from all those creepy crawlies and tail-wagging pets around us. We are only somewhat different and that heavenly secret is also out now. The load of our 5000-years of civilization would come crashing down on us when we would come to know how we grew, changed and upgraded ourselves with each passing generation. We would come to know, for example, the basis of our religious beliefs and how we created our gods, motifs, icons and beliefs. We’d get to know how families, social, religious and political institutions developed the way they did and how history of human civilization took shape and evolved.
In a way, with human intelligence decoded, our past would be rewound and replayed right in front of our eyes. The unwinding of the past would have its devastating effect on how we live and act today and how our future would pan out eventually in the most predictable manner. We would be looking again into the mirrors with the most narcissistic consciousness that we have ever experienced. And when we would look around us at our houses, office cubicles, belongings and all that we so sacredly built or save all our lives, we’d be ashamed to realize the futility of it all. We’d realize that we were after all almost similar to all other animal species and we had no right to exploit natural resources and monopolize the planet the way we did only in the last thousand years or so.
The worst victim of demystified intelligence would be our lifestyles. Because, we would know why we like a particular dress and why we need to buy more. Why we chose a particular gadget, an object and how we chose a particular brand or the place of shopping. Why we are so prone to hoarding things around us just like some animals hoard food for the changing seasons. Our habits and behavior would become highly predictable so we would eventually lose interest in life around us. Spouses, kids, family, friends and relatives—all would become predictable to us and we to them—so much that we would become increasingly critical and apprehensive of one another.
All would not be so bad after we decode human intelligence. There are some positive aspects as well that would make life more progressive for the humans. For example, collective intelligence would grow exponentially across the globe. Once we know how human intelligence works, specific teaching methods and approaches would make learning easier and faster. Soon you can expect your 12-years old son to know more than you learnt in your lifetime. Human-computer interfaces may accelerate this growth even further.
Another major beneficiary would be the health sector. After decoding intelligence, we can improve mental health, decelerate mental degeneration and improve longevity. We can also find effective cures for several mental disorders like the neuroses and OCD, some old-age related diseases like dementia or the Alzheimer’s. Drug companies would hit the jackpot as they would be producing and selling medicines that would help changing mood and behavior patterns of the humans (some are already doing it but their research would get a boost and they would aim for total control of human brain and behavior). Soon you would wantonly be able to choose to be happy, sad or melancholic by popping a pill for the same. There would also be a brain-enhancing pill for exam time or for an important meeting or interview.
Another major beneficiary of this scientific break-through would be marketing and the ad companies. The marketers would be able to take full advantage of the predictability of human behavior and be in a position to deliver individual-specific products. The ad agencies would be able to deliver the message more effectively and create individual need for specific products through accurate and effective communication. Soon electro-thermal sensors in your mobile or I-pod would automatically be playing songs based on your mood.
Another direct benefit of human mind mapping would be in reducing crime in the society. Soon, schools and colleges would have their annual mental health check-ups that would weed out criminal mindsets and tendencies among the youth. Even adult population would have to take annual mental health certificates much like the AIDS-free certificates taken by professional sex-workers.
Crime would finally be defined as a mental disorder and not as a social aberration and would be treated as such. Criminals or terrorists, they would all be identified together and dealt with compassion and medication. Soon America would insist not on nuclear check-up of third-world countries but mental health check-up of its population.
The list of perils and benefits of decoding human intelligence is endless. In reality, it is like looking into the face of humanity and knowing it inside out. After it happens, life would be full of predictability and controls, obviously not all of them in your hands. All your thoughts, ideas and dreams thereafter would be predetermined and predefined—you’d only believe that you are actually working them up. In fact, it would become increasingly difficult to differentiate between humans and machines. Eventually, the planet Earth would have three main life forms: plants, animals and morons.
Given the speed of scientific research in this field, such a day cannot be too far away. The exponentially rising speed of computer processors, following the Moore’s Law, and the extent of research in the field of genetics and biosciences, this scenario may soon turn into a reality. The result would be more exciting than any sci-fi novel, more perilous than all Frankenstein put together and perhaps more disheartening than the worst heartbreak.
Human intelligence laid the foundation of technology. All technological advancements that we see today are ultimately the product of human intelligence. What will happen when technology turns around and enhances human intelligence, creating a better-than-human intelligence? More intelligence would go on creating more intelligence and this process would go on till we reach what scientists call ‘the Singularity’. It will work like a computer program that continues to improve its own source code and that too at fast pace. Soon, direct brain-computer interfaces would become a reality and they will be creating the next generation of brain-computer interfaces or, maybe, biologically upgraded humans.
While all this happens (obviously it will not take as long as human evolution, it would still take a few decades for better-than-human intelligence to takeover our planet), what would happen to the 6.5 billion humans living out their lives on Earth? As information about human intelligence would percolate, more and more humans would be directly affected by it. It would be perhaps the first ‘psychological epidemic’ that we have ever suffered from.
Once intelligence is decoded, our own existential thoughts would get a severe jolt because, without our intellectual veneer, we would be exposed to the realization of our animalistic behavior. We would suddenly realize that we are certainly not much different from all those creepy crawlies and tail-wagging pets around us. We are only somewhat different and that heavenly secret is also out now. The load of our 5000-years of civilization would come crashing down on us when we would come to know how we grew, changed and upgraded ourselves with each passing generation. We would come to know, for example, the basis of our religious beliefs and how we created our gods, motifs, icons and beliefs. We’d get to know how families, social, religious and political institutions developed the way they did and how history of human civilization took shape and evolved.
In a way, with human intelligence decoded, our past would be rewound and replayed right in front of our eyes. The unwinding of the past would have its devastating effect on how we live and act today and how our future would pan out eventually in the most predictable manner. We would be looking again into the mirrors with the most narcissistic consciousness that we have ever experienced. And when we would look around us at our houses, office cubicles, belongings and all that we so sacredly built or save all our lives, we’d be ashamed to realize the futility of it all. We’d realize that we were after all almost similar to all other animal species and we had no right to exploit natural resources and monopolize the planet the way we did only in the last thousand years or so.
The worst victim of demystified intelligence would be our lifestyles. Because, we would know why we like a particular dress and why we need to buy more. Why we chose a particular gadget, an object and how we chose a particular brand or the place of shopping. Why we are so prone to hoarding things around us just like some animals hoard food for the changing seasons. Our habits and behavior would become highly predictable so we would eventually lose interest in life around us. Spouses, kids, family, friends and relatives—all would become predictable to us and we to them—so much that we would become increasingly critical and apprehensive of one another.
All would not be so bad after we decode human intelligence. There are some positive aspects as well that would make life more progressive for the humans. For example, collective intelligence would grow exponentially across the globe. Once we know how human intelligence works, specific teaching methods and approaches would make learning easier and faster. Soon you can expect your 12-years old son to know more than you learnt in your lifetime. Human-computer interfaces may accelerate this growth even further.
Another major beneficiary would be the health sector. After decoding intelligence, we can improve mental health, decelerate mental degeneration and improve longevity. We can also find effective cures for several mental disorders like the neuroses and OCD, some old-age related diseases like dementia or the Alzheimer’s. Drug companies would hit the jackpot as they would be producing and selling medicines that would help changing mood and behavior patterns of the humans (some are already doing it but their research would get a boost and they would aim for total control of human brain and behavior). Soon you would wantonly be able to choose to be happy, sad or melancholic by popping a pill for the same. There would also be a brain-enhancing pill for exam time or for an important meeting or interview.
Another major beneficiary of this scientific break-through would be marketing and the ad companies. The marketers would be able to take full advantage of the predictability of human behavior and be in a position to deliver individual-specific products. The ad agencies would be able to deliver the message more effectively and create individual need for specific products through accurate and effective communication. Soon electro-thermal sensors in your mobile or I-pod would automatically be playing songs based on your mood.
Another direct benefit of human mind mapping would be in reducing crime in the society. Soon, schools and colleges would have their annual mental health check-ups that would weed out criminal mindsets and tendencies among the youth. Even adult population would have to take annual mental health certificates much like the AIDS-free certificates taken by professional sex-workers.
Crime would finally be defined as a mental disorder and not as a social aberration and would be treated as such. Criminals or terrorists, they would all be identified together and dealt with compassion and medication. Soon America would insist not on nuclear check-up of third-world countries but mental health check-up of its population.
The list of perils and benefits of decoding human intelligence is endless. In reality, it is like looking into the face of humanity and knowing it inside out. After it happens, life would be full of predictability and controls, obviously not all of them in your hands. All your thoughts, ideas and dreams thereafter would be predetermined and predefined—you’d only believe that you are actually working them up. In fact, it would become increasingly difficult to differentiate between humans and machines. Eventually, the planet Earth would have three main life forms: plants, animals and morons.
