IN LIGHT OF the human race’s ambition to evolve by means of technological innovation, we have to be careful not to harm ourselves by losing the one thing that defines us: our human identity. If this happens, we have no one to blame except ourselves. And the reason is simple.
We are developing the idea that growth in efficiency is the best way to achieve contributions to the public good. And because of this desire to optimize, we run the risk of having to submit to the machine and, in the process, evaluate ourselves with the same criteria we used for machines. If this continues, the road forward will be one where humans join machines and ultimately become machines (or at least those who meet the requested criteria will). As a result, humanity is taken out of the equation. Is this a realistic point of view? Can humans feel better in a machine-driven world than in one dictated by the human race?
If we use the science fiction world as a guide, then it could well be the case. Take, for example, the 2009 movie Avatar, directed by James Cameron. In this movie, a reality is painted where humans can live in a virtual world, yet still partake in emotional and physical experiences. By becoming an avatar, the idea is formed of humans being able to enter the world of technology and become an actual part of it. What is interesting in movies depicting such a reality is that it shows that humans can quickly develop a kind of addiction to such an alternate life and see it as rewarding. Once the reward centers are activated in our brain, it becomes addictive and we want more of it. We want more machine.
Consider the 2018 movie Oasis, which depicts a society in 2045 where people can take the shape of any character in a virtual world called the Oasis. In the Oasis, people can live their fantasies, which is not a problem as long as we realize that the virtual world is different from the human one in which we actually live. This is, however, something the main character Wade Watts (played by actor Tye Sheridan) fails to do, as he falls in love with the virtual character Art3mis (played by actress Olivia Cooke). By not being able to distinguish between the worlds and preferring to experience the virtual world over the actual one, the main character becomes addicted to spending more and more time in the Oasis.
Granted, these movies are simply fiction and as such can be considered unrealistic and not relevant to the technology challenges that we are facing today. But, at the same time, they do provide us with valuable advice, since they outline how quickly our human desire to progress at any cost can escalate quickly into submission to a technology system that strips away our true human identity.
Moreover, living a virtual life may not be a fantasy for that much longer. For example, Neuralink, a start-up founded by Elon Musk, is currently working on developing a brain-machine interface where human and AI can meet. On the surface, this does not need to be a problem, as long as AI is only used to augment human capabilities and the reality established is human. The point I want to emphasize here, however, is that humans need to have a strong moral compass in their search to continuously improve themselves with new technology. Without any ethical awareness of how we want to use algorithms, and for what purpose, we may run the risk of becoming blinded by the unlimited technological opportunities available to us. As a result, we may lose the unique human features that shape and define our societies and organizations. And if this is to happen, at best, humans will follow machines, but at worst, we may, as a species, cease to exist.
Guidance is needed before we embrace the potential of algorithms in our workplace and use them to serve humanity. That ambition in itself requires a leader that understands, feels and recognizes human experience as an opportunity, not a limitation. All of this leads to the conclusion that the leadership of the future is likely to remain human.