Exploring and facilitating
the destined role of Science and Technology in the human evolution
Dr. Narendra Joshi
According to Sri Aurobindo, the triumphant domination, the
all-shattering and irresistible victory of Science in nineteenth century Europe
is due to the perfection with which the great psychological wants of the
western mind were satisfied by science. These wants probably were curiosity
about existence, passion to control the environment, individual freedom, and
supply of endless novelties to enjoy the wants of life. They discovered laws,
principles, and fundamental facts of the world and of our being, which all
could verify at once for themselves. These laws could satisfy and guide the
free individual judgment, delivering it equally from vital impulses and erratic
self-will. These laws and truths, Sri Aurobindo explains, justified and yet
controlled the claims and desires of the individual human being.
“The attempt to govern and organize human life by verifiable
Science, by a law, a truth of things, which all can observe and verify and to
which all may freely and must rationally subscribe” is the culminating movement
of European civilization according to Sri Aurobindo. (The Human Cycle —The Age
of Individualism and Reason, pg. 20-21)
Sri Aurobindo wrote that there is a great danger in this
progress of science and the age of objective reason. He says that Science has
prepared us for an age of wider and deeper culture and in spite of and even
partly by its materialism it has rendered impossible the return of the true
materialism. By true materialism, he means that of the barbarian mentality.
However according to this thought, science has encouraged more or less
indirectly another kind of barbarism. This is barbarism of the industrial, the
commercial, the economic age which is according to him progressing to its
culmination and its close. This economic barbarism, he explains, is that of the
vital man who mistakes the vital being for the self and accepts its
satisfaction as the first aim in life. The essential barbarism of all this is
the pursuit of vital success, satisfaction, productiveness, accumulation,
possession, enjoyment, comfort, convenience for their own sake. He says that
vital is an important facet of human life but
it must be subordinated to the
superior needs of the mental being, chastened and purified by a greater law of
truth, good and beauty before they can take their proper place in the integrality
of human perfection.
According to Sri Aurobindo, “If it persisted too long, Life
would become clogged and perish of its own plethora or burst in its straining
to a gross expansion. Like the too massive Titan it will collapse by its own
mass.” (The Human Cycle —Civilization and Barbarism, Sri Aurobindo, 1997a, p81)
Sri Aurobindo wrote that in the modern era under the
impulsion of Science this effort of scientific and rational governing of the
whole life assumed enormous proportions. It claimed for a time to examine
successfully and lay down finally the true principle of not just external
Nature but also internal nature. However according to Sri Aurobindo, this is
not been a success. The human mind is beginning to perceive that it has left
the heart of almost every problem untouched and illumined only outsides. It has
understood few of the processes of Nature but not the reason or idea behind any
of these processes. Therefore, a vast abyss of Truth lies below concealing the
real springs, the mysterious powers and in fact they are the secretly decisive
influences of existence. Sri Aurobindo says that
“It is a question whether the intellectual reason will ever
be able to give us an adequate account of these deeper and greater things or
subject them to the intelligent will as it has succeeded in explaining and
canalizing, though still imperfectly, yet with much show of triumphant result,
the forces of physical nature. However, these other powers are much larger,
subtler, deeper down, more hidden, elusive, and variable than those of physical
nature.” (The Human Cycle,The Reason as Governor of Life, Sri Aurobindo, 1997a,
p. 109) According to him “The root of the difficulty is, at the very basis of
all our life and existence, internal and external, there is something on which
the intellect can never lay a controlling hold, and that is the Absolute, the
Infinite. It is this infinite which is behind every being, object, class and
tendency in Nature. Each striving to follow secret of its own truth in its own
way and thus each individual brings in his or her own variations. Therefore,
there are infinite potentialilities, expressions and forms manifesting from the
one infinite Absolute. This infinite potentiality and infinite variation is
quite baffling to the reasoning intelligence; because the reason deals
successfully only with the settled and the finite.” Sri Aurobindo explains that
in man this difficulty reaches its acme. ( p112)
He then explains that the reason can govern, but only as a
minister, it can do so imperfectly, or as a general arbiter and giver of
suggestions. The real sovereign is beyond this minister.
Therefore, according to Sri Aurobindo, “Man's impulse to be
free, master of Nature in himself and his environment can be really fulfilled
only when his self-consciousness grows beyond the rational mentality, becomes
aware of the true sovereign, and is either identified itself with him, or
entered in constant communication with his supreme will and knowledge.” (The
Human Cycle —The Reason as Governor of Life, Sri Aurobindo, 1997a, p. 113)
After Quantum mechanics, science is at a crossroad. Concepts
like subjectivity, the unity of all existence, the hierarchy of wholes are
taking roots in science. These revelations of the new science are all consistent
with Sri Aurobindo’s more comprehensive and integral philosophy of existence.
Conclusions like the unity of matter and energy, unity of space and time,
relativity, the role of consciousness in material processes are essentially
pointing to an integral theory of the unity of the entire universe. The recent
emphases on qualitative analyses rather than quantitative, on the absolute as
well as the relative, on the subtle and not obvious, and on words and not only
figures are positive signs of this shift in AI. Science has now come to the
conclusion that there is no essential matter, that consciousness and force are
both essential for any activity and both are ultimately the same. The limits of
cold logic are now also accepted in the realm of science. In the opinion of
scientists like Fritjof Capra, the foundations of science have already started
moving and science is now on the ‘Tao’, i.e. the path of a more holistic and
integral thought.
Quantum computing, the Global consciousness project,
Penrose’s quantum coherence hypothesis, and Nagel’s subjective thought
experiments are a few examples of the influence of the new science in AI. In
Quantum computing, computing is done by qubits and the speed is very high.
Noncomputability is taken as grey area. The Global Consciousness Project
attempts to record the responses of certain human receptors in many people
across the world to global events and upheavals, and thereby prove that there
is an united consciousness behind all the apparent diversity of people in the world.
Penrose in his theory has attributed noncomputability in thought processes of
the brain to a certain quantum effects. Nagel has emphasized the necessity of
knowing by being and has brought the subjective element into the understanding
of the human mind. From the above description however, it seems that AI has taken these concepts only at the surface
level, and this superficial impact
could be deepened by inputs from Sri Aurobindo’s theory.
For example in Quantum computing, the understanding should
be that no element howsoever minute, speedy and complex, can solve the issue of
noncomputable and supralogical decisionmaking. Fuzziness, although accepted in
AI, needs to be cleared of the impact of uncertainty and chaos theories and
instead should be used to stimulate transcendence of the mental level to
intuitive and creative thought. Penrose and Nagel may be helped in their
respective philosophies by replacing the indeterminacy element of Penrose or
the ‘being’ element of Nagel by the truth of higher mind. The role of AI is
crucial as a rational application of science. Taking the points from the
previous section wherein it was
explained that Sri Aurobindo has shown how science has played a crucial
role in human progress and saved it from barbaric relapse, and at the same
time, how it has created a greater danger of vital and mental barbarism, we can
see what AI can do in this regard.
On the benevolent side, AI can bring light to the ignorant,
can protect knowledge from barbaric attacks, can raise the intellectual
capacity of the race, can help in the perpetuation and preservation of
knowledge and culture. It can arrest relapse to physical barbarism by spreading
civilization and technology to all on the planet. On destructive side it can
also lead to vital and economic barbarism as explained by Sri Aurobindo. This
AI can do very efficiently and in fact is doing it by intelligently enticing
these faculties to remain perpetually engrossed in their limited satisfactions,
resulting in overall chaos, sensationalism, conflicts and nihilism.
Sri Aurobindo, like some other yogis and sages of India, has
applied scientific rigor to the study of consciousness. Yoga is a science of
the within and this direction of research will be inevitable for AI as its
psychology at present is based on physiology and is only an extension of
physical science dealing with material things. This way it cannot reach to the
end of its exploration and thus needs an alternate science to go further. Sri
Aurobindo’s integral yoga theory and practice may be seen as that step ahead.
In theory, AI theorists are struggling to answer fundamental questions such as
why life and mind appear in matter, how matter is not illusive and simply a
product of the mind, how reason can be surpassed, how qualia theories explaining emotional / vital
part are incorrect after a point as they
equate a pattern with a qualia (i.e. sense experience.) These attempts will get
enriched by impacts from a higher psychology as elaborated by Sri Aurobindo.
Thought experiment is a tool used in Quantum mechanics. AI
is using thought experiments very successfully, as for example, in the qualia
experiments of Chalmers and others, and in the twin earth experiments of
Putnam. Here the truth is searched purely from thought, as laboratory
experiments are not possible at such subtle levels. Although neither Sri
Aurobindo or any other philosopher has gifted these tools to AI, the use of
pure thought and inference to search for the ultimate reality has been a
hallmark of eastern philosophies from the time of the Vedas, and in modern
times we find an efflorescence of this method in the writings of Sri Aurobindo.
By pure thought one reaches to the truth (the Path of knowledge or Jnanmarga of Yoga).
In a wider context, scientific progress can be understood as
the empowerment of mankind and its emancipation from the unconscious. Man is no
longer so dominated by the external forces of nature but to some extent has
learned to rule over matter, life and his own mind. His spirit is being freed
from the shackles of nature and he is taking evolution into his own hands.
However, instead of liberating man from his lower vital and physical
propensities, science often serves to make him a more sophisticated slave of
his lower nature.
Following are some recent examples from AI field showing
that AI has yet to take this benevolent path seriously and learn from cautions
against a path leading to what Sri Aurobindo has called a relapse to vital and
mental barbarism:
1. Online
chatting involves dummy friends with false identities, there are cases when
this has led to financial or even criminal offences. At times, there is no real
person and only a program is pretending to be a person.
2. Animation
and cartoon films on TV and theater are a sign of prowess in AI. They are
elegant, entertaining and intelligent. They have thus captured minds,
especially of children. However, it is now proved that the subtle elements of
violence like killing, hitting, and sex in these films are making children
insensitive to real world situations.
3. In
several games played on the computer and internet, children are terrorists,
thieves, neighbours from hell, and there is objectionable confusion created
between good and evil, between naughtiness and cruelty.
4. Three-D
films are promoting ghosts, prehistoric animals and giant forces destroying
planets; there is marketing of fear, insecurity and helplessness. There are
some exceptions where issues like second
identity or avatar and power of mind as well as kinesthesis are handled. But
majority is thriving on negative
emotions.
5. Data
mining field of AI helps to find data of all citizens secretly and then filter
it to find prospective customers with trustworthy credit history for selling
goods, loans and even insurance policies.
This is encroachment on personal lives and loss of all secrecy in personal and
family lives. When the IT giants are secretly moving a person through their
intelligent mechanism to unconsciously make a particular buying decision, they
are ultimately nailing his free will. He is ultratech equivalent of a slave of
medieval ages.
6. By
being continuously in a virtual world created so well by AI, children, and even
adults are facing psychosomatic disorders while struggling to cope with the
real world.
Following two are samples of such happenings.
7. “Scientists
have been aware of the potential side effects of VR (Virtual Reality) systems
for some time. A number of studies have examined what is sometimes referred to
as "cybersickness" or "sim sickness" (short for simulation
sickness). These feelings explain why some people feel sick in 3D movies.” www.livescience.com › Tech Feb 3, 2015
8. “The
experience can cause nausea, eyestrain and headaches. Headset makers don’t
recommend their devices for children. Samsung and Oculus urge adults to take at
least 10-minute breaks every half-hour, and they warn against driving, riding a
bike or operating machinery if the user feels odd after a session.
9. Apart
from the physical effects, Stanford University professor Jeremy Bailenson says
his 15 years of research consistently have shown virtual reality can change how
a user thinks and behaves, in part because it is so realistic. ”
(http://www.wsj.com/articles/what-doesvirtual-reality-do-to-your-body-and-mind-1451858778)
10. 9. No doubt Neuro Fuzzy or Geno Fuzzy hybrids are giving better solutions.
However, to explain how supervised clustering can be a better model, Kosko
gives a hypothetical case
of a monster waking up at JFK airport and attempting to
learn languages by clustering one by one. Then he is helped say by Frankenstein
in learning this (Kosko, 1999, p. 170).
11. Neural
Fuzzy systems are used by a Japanese company to control Rolling mill producing
steel strips.
12. They
have big application in Stock Market where patterns and trends in a data are
learned by neuro Fuzzy or Geno Fuzzy system and then future buying or selling
decisions are made. The experts also add their experience to make these
patterns more optimal. The new math tools have also turned some Swiss bankers
into gamblers and currency speculators. Most large banks and credit firms now
trade derivatives to hedge risks. They sweep fixed rate loans to variable rates
or they buy and sell ‘swaptions’ options to sweep such loans.
13. Financial
Frankenstein: Many central banks have sold gold reserve and replaced it by
inflation derivatives, Even governments hedge and speculate in interest rate
derivatives.
The residents of California’s Orange County learned this
hard way when their county went bankrupt in late 1994. The media blamed the
mysterious tools like derivatives but the fault lies with gambling users. The
above tools are easily picked up by finance experts for they are statistical in
nature and user friendly. Only some time series data is enough to paint a risk
profile of a user based on his past decisions or to pick a stock based on ratio
analysis with AI tools like Neural nets, Fuzzy systems and Geno Fuzzy systems.
These tools are now indispensable for modern day financial market analysts..
Kosko explains (p. 176) that these new tools have made
analysis of financial arenas more chic and swift. However, he explains that
technology is mere tool, most such tools fade away in few months as new tools
appear. Betting on technology is dangerous. The recession followed with the
near collapse of the US and European financial markets. The bankruptcy of
banking giants like Goldman Sachs and Citibank and the widespread subprime loan
scams resulted from greed overtaking legitimate use of efficient AI decision making
tools like Neuro Fuzzy Geno networks.
In areas like entertainment, governance, warfare, finance,
stocks and business, the algorithmic complexity of underlying AI tools on one
side and enchanting simplicity of their usage on the other is a characteristic
feature. It is boon for a right cause and yet a potential hazard. It is almost
to the point where just a click of a button is needed to wipe out a major city,
or cause the Sensex in financial market to tumble down, washing out billions of
dollars in a minute.
No doubt there are benevolent applications of AI: Some of
them are elaborated in a later section. The help they give in education,
medicine, dissemination of knowledge and individualization, in achieving of the
ancient ideal of equality, liberty and fraternity cannot be overstressed. Their
benevolent role needs to be stressed more in AI applications so that science
may play its destined role in evolution.
***
Selected
References:
Kosko, B.
(1999). Heaven in a chip: Fuzzy visions
of society and science in the digital age. New York, NY: Three Rivers
Press.
Sri Aurobindo. (1997a). The
Human Cycle, The Ideal of Human Unity, War and SelfDetermination. The
Complete works of Sri Aurobindo, Vol. 25. Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram
Publication Department.
Sri Aurobindo. (2005). The
Life Divine. The Complete works of Sri Aurobindo, Vols. 21-22. Pondicherry:
Sri Aurobindo Ashram Publication Department.
Talbot, M. (1980). Mysticism
and New Physics. New York, NY: Bantam Books.
Talbot, M. .
(2016). Mysticism and
the New Physics.
Retrieved from
http://astraldouble.com/post/3835528226/omnijective-universe
Talbot, M. (1991). The
Holographic Universe. New York, NY: Harper Collins.
Tathagatananda, Swami.(2016). Vedanta
and
Science.
Retrieved
from
http://static1.1sqspcdn.com/static/f/632848/8508731/1284253273083/Vedanta
and Science
No comments:
Post a Comment