Computers instructing humans

The idea appears to be to let computers exponentially proliferate some of the tasks they excel at: numbers, statistics, labelling people, copying, collecting data and mass surveillance. Rather than sit down and talk about how we boost the values we as humans wish to proliferate: compassion, love, care, connection and belonging.

Few are talking about how the former is antithetical to the latter.

I’m not saying ”stop using computers”, I’m saying ”stop letting computers assume the leadership position”. Computers can act as aids for compassion, love, care, connection and belonging. Think of games, text-to-speech and long-distance communication. But computers arrive there by instruction code from humans. Not the other way around.

The more alarming truth is this: computers can be used to destroy compassion, love, care, connection and belonging much faster than we can keep up with building it. Sometimes that destruction is with intent, but often it is oblivious.

/previously on Fedi