A Telescope of the Mind

The potential role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in our lives is rapidly unfolding, and its pros and cons are the subjects of much-heated debate.

During the American Revolution, a farmer was fortunate to own a horse, which helped him plow his field and transport his crop to the market. With the advent of the steam engine, the same farmer could own the equivalent of twenty horsepower without the expense of feeding and caring for horses. This technological innovation was a “force multiplier.”

The invention of the telescope in 1608 in the Netherlands played an important role in advancing our understanding of Earth's place in the cosmos. Early telescopes were primarily used for surveying and military tactics. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), an Italian astronomer, physicist, and mathematician, turned telescopes toward the heavens, advocating a heliocentric universe that placed the sun at the center of the solar system, with the earth and other planets revolving around it.

Until recently, humans were considered the highest source of intelligence. Then, in 1996, IBM supercomputer Deep Blue won the chess championship against the then-world chess champion Garry Kasparov. 

Galileo and his telescope proved that the Earth is not the center of the universe. Similarly, AI is proving that man is not the highest source of intelligence in the universe. Artificial intelligence is still in its early development phase, so nobody really understands its potential and how it will change the course of human evolution. However, I believe today’s doomsayers claim that AI should be banned because it has the potential to destroy humanity is not that different from the Catholic Church’s inquisition of Galileo, forcing him to retract his discovery at the pain of death.

As a young engineering student, the potential to access all the knowledge in the world on a piece of glass in my pocket sounded like science fiction fantasy. Elon Musk’s AI-enabled Neuralink implant brain chip does not sound too far-fetched today. 

Like a telescope acting as a human eyesight enhancer, we should consider AI an “intelligence multiplier.”

— Sina.