Ever since Vernor Vinge coined the term, Singularity, in 1983, the specter of conscious computers achieving intelligence greater than their human creators has been a staple of science fiction. In the context of artificial intelligence (AI), it’s the point where sentient devices reach a superhuman level of cognition. When a machine is able to build better versions of itself at a rapid rate, it becomes impossible for humans to understand or control it.
Popular books and movies on the subject have proliferated. The Terminator, Battlestar Galactica (I’m still in love with Katee Sackhoff), I Robot, and Ex Machina, all explore the fear that self-aware artificial intelligence may not hold the same value of human life that we do. With catastrophic consequences for humanity.
Are we close to The Singularity? Recent advances in AI would seem to suggest it. Some reviewers of Chat GPT have claimed its human-mimicking responses were evidence of sentience. But first we must answer the question, what is consciousness?
Philosophers have been debating that since the time of Aristotle. John Locke was the earliest to articulate the modern concept consciousness in the 17th century. While there are multiple definitions and nuances, these theories can be summarized into two components. The first is self-awareness, our unique experience of sensory input. A camera records images, but doesn’t experience awe when it captures a sunset, or love when it views another camera. Self-awareness experiences a separation between our self and others, or the environment around us.
The second component is intent. This goes beyond your computer’s security app that switches off an exterior lamp at dawn, then flips it back on at dusk. Intent is the act of creating a conscious goal. After reading your power bill, you may choose to override the program and leave the light off at night to save money. If friends are coming over to visit for the evening, you may plan to turn it on so they can see the front entry steps in the dark. Such planning is beyond the capacity of any present computer programming.
Ever since neuroscience became a discipline in the 19th century, scientists have sought to discover the seat of consciousness. It’s been a daunting task. There is unanimity that it resides in the brain, with its 86 billion neurons, 100 trillion synapses and over 100 known neurotransmitters. But no one can pry open someone’s skull, look inside and say, “Aha! There it is. I see your consciousness!”
We know that certain areas of the brain generate repeatable electrical signals when it processes sound, or sight, or if we perform a math problem, etc. But in spite of progress mapping brain regions associated with conscious activity, scientists have yet to discover how we get from this low voltage network of chemical reactions to sentience. What separates us from some complex chemical reaction that lacks self-awareness?
There are nearly limitless theories of consciousness. If you don’t believe me, do a Google search. I’ll wait. And wait. And wait. You get the picture. But these myriad hypotheses only speculate about the what, not the how. How exactly does that bundle of electrochemical reactions make the leap to consciousness? An intriguing idea is taking hold within the neuroscientist community.
More and more scientists suspect that quantum effects may be involved. And recent experimental results are beginning to hint at that. Papers have identified that microtubules exhibit spontaneous electrical self-polarization. They're the long spindly protein organelles giving cells their three-dimensional structure, that transport molecules within cellular cytoplasm, and that are vital for mitosis (cell division).
Furthermore, microtubules form bundles within axons (the primary long-distance signal carrier of neurons) and dendrites (the wispy extensions that form dozens (maybe hundreds) of connections with surrounding neurons. These bundles generate an oscillating, self-regulating low voltage current. They also produce bursts of electrical activity that correspond with action potentials, the rapid change in neuron cell membrane voltage we associate with neurotransmission. Several science teams have demonstrated that the binding of anesthetic molecules to microtubule bundles inhibits their activity, inducing unconsciousness.
Electromagnetism is a quantum field, associated with photons and electrons. And the interesting thing about quantum fields is that the interactions of waves within those fields produce emergent properties. For example, the random waves within spacetime produce virtual particles, matter and antimatter pairs of subatomic particles that wink into existence, then disappear through self-annihilation.
Consciousness, in my opinion, may be an emergent property of complex nanoscale interactions within electromagnetism and/or other quantum fields associated with neural microtubules. Our thoughts, our hopes and dreams reside not in the chemistry and physics of our neurons, but within the quantum realm.
Now, back to our original question. Will Chat GPT or some other form of AI achieve The Singularity? It’s unlikely. The chips and processors that make AI possible are complex. There are 150 billion transistors on an AI chip. But the microcircuits within them are composed of simple homogenous conductors and logic gates. The resultant quantum interactions are vast orders of magnitude simpler than the those of the atomic bonds within the molecules and signal-resonating cylindrical shape of microtubules.
Within a brain reside multiple trillions of these complex structures, all creating their own individual quantum field waves. In turn they interact with the fields of adjacent tubules, and those of nearby neurons or those of more distant brain cells connected across synapses.
If we could somehow render our brains invisible, revealing the even more complex quantum fields they engender, we could at last say, “Here it is!” I also think we’d have to come up with a new superlative.
Awe and
wonder would barely suffice.
In my opinion, humanity is centuries away from constructing a structure as complex as the brain, and more importantly, having a quantum field of requisite complexity. More likely, we create a machine with the sentience of a cockroach or a flatworm. But I suspect at that point, our collective alarm would force the abandonment of such a project. Strictly enforced prohibitions would further delay or prevent artificial sentience.
But what if an AI could “borrow” the consciousness of a living brain? What would that look like? How would that occur? What would be the consequences vs our typical conception of Singularity? Would the host’s consciousness supply the host’s moral code? Would our better angels win the day?
These are the questions I intend to explore in my next series.
Happy Reading,
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Want a deeper dive? Check out these sources.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consciousnesshttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-30453-2#:~:text=Microtubules%20(MTs)%20are%20long%20cylindrical,help%20define%20axons%20and%20dendriteshttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/understanding-consciousness-goes-beyond-exploring-brain-chemistry/https://neurosciencenews.com/quantum-process-consciousness-27624/
