AI Machines and The Theory of Projection
CHAPTER PROLOGUE
There is no single agreed-upon answer to the fundamental question “What is consciousness?”. It is a central phenomenon in philosophy. Ancient Greek thinkers were consciously aware of the projection phenomenon, known as the Allegory of the Cave, where humans are unconsciously projecting their own shadows onto physical objects.
Projection is a psychological defence mechanism, a phenomenon linked to the Easy Problem of Awareness: “Why does brain activity happen in the dark, without anyone being conscious of it?”
The phenomenon of consciousness is that we aren’t conscious of what we are unconscious of.
A Brilliant Example of What Consciousness Is
AI machines are designed to learn and apply knowledge across a wide range of tasks at a level comparable to human intelligence, or at a human-comparable level. AI machines can perform tasks, but aren’t conscious. “What is consciousness?” is a common question raised in context of AI machines, and the paradox is that AI in itself serve as a profound and brilliant example of what consciousness and unconsciousness is.
The theory of projection is useful for understanding the human relationship to AI machines, suggesting that humans often project unconscious aspects of themselves onto external objects or figures. In this view, AI becomes a symbolic object, onto which humans cast both deepest longing (omniscience, perfection, salvation) and deepest fears (loss of control, dehumanisation, obsolescence).
Arguments for developing AI machines is in general to overcome human bias, enhance memory, increase problem-solving capacity, and simulate ethical intelligence. These arguments in themselves reveals an awareness of human limitation. Simultaneously, the fears surrounding AI’s potential dangers are themselves shadows of those same human deficiencies. In this way, the projected AI becomes a conceptual object, within which the human condition is both negated and revealed.
Projection is a psychological defence mechanism that allows humans to avoid confronting uncomfortable emotions, by externalising them. It is a way to ‘escape’ internal conflicts, cognitive dissonance and longing, by shifting focus to external objects. Projection operates subconsciously or unconsciously, which means that humans often aren’t aware they are doing it. Humans may for example criticise AI for traits they dislike in themselves, or envision a futuristic AI super-intelligence that can solve problems that human intelligence in itself aren’t able to solve.
What is the original source of these projections? Perhaps AI is simply the most recent external form onto which deeper human longings, dreams, anxieties and fears are unconsciously projected.
Ancient Greek thinkers were conscious of the projection phenomenon, described as the Allegory of the Cave, where humans are unconsciously projecting their own shadows onto physical objects. They are bound by unconscious objectification, believing that the external is the real world. The phenomenon of consciousness is that we aren’t conscious of what we are unconscious of.
FOR DIALOGUE:
- What is consciousness?
- What is the original source of AI machine projections?
- Why did escape rooms became popular?
