Istiaque Ahmed Shawon
Data! We are creating data. We are analyzing and hacking data. And finally all of us concern over safety of data.
Data is the plural form of the word Datum. And “Dataisam” is it a new word to you? If it is then move forward, following lines are waiting for you, if you are familiar with it then move forward we need a debate!The term dataism has first been appeared in 2013 on some articles in high rated newspaper like New York Time. Last year, Israeli historian, social scientist and thinker Prof Noal Harari talked a lot about dataism in his book “Homo Deus”.
He investigated on dataism thoroughly and presented this concept significantly in his book.
Dataism is just an idea refers to a philosophy focused around being data-oriented and it is conceptualised along with the growing impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled machines upon our lives in the digital age. Sounds interesting, right?
The reason for this is that it becomes unavoidable throughout the human history for world-shattering results to occur in terms of data collection and storage given the amalgamation of the Internet and the processing capability of algorithms regarding the use of AI technologies.
Data is a tool and a weapon at the same time it means power and we the human-being is persuaded this power. As a result of the weakening of the spiritual connection of the human-being due to the absolute power, the individual gets reduced to one dimension and starts as a natural consequence to worship the power aspects of this dimension (the opposite may also apply).
At this point, the tools intended towards the purpose become like a curtain covering the purpose and with the manipulation of those who hold the tool within their hands, the direction changes. Eventually, the human-being whose direction gets diverted becomes deprecated.Harari’s the author of the book “Homos Deus” intention is to warn us against the dangers of data-worship or to adapt us to it. Dataism declares that the universe is made up of data flows and that the value of each being depends on the contribution to the data processing.
Data is processing is a job done very well by AI algorithms. After all, the human-being consists merely of complicated algorithms. This is what makes the human-being superior in comparison to other creatures. It would be natural that a being made up of more complicated algorithms would be superior to a human-being.
According to ‘dataism’, it serves for the human-being to produce data as a form of worship at the moment. Not sharing any data (as well as privacy) would count as a kind of religious blasphemy.
So, would there be no existential purpose left for the human-being once all the personal data owned is uploaded onto the system and the AI surpasses a certain threshold and goes beyond the boundaries of the human-being?
Then, would our last worship be to leave our space to AI quietly? A research study done undertaken by the Engineering Department of Oxford University in 2013 forecasted that within twenty years, most of the jobs will be undertaken by automation up to an extent of 47 percent.
The “Arterys” can complete a task of a radiology assistant which takes about 45 minutes only in 15 seconds. “STAR” (smart tissue autonomous robot) can perform an operation better than a surgeon.
Some types of attorney, banking, press, translation services etc. can already be completed better by AI in comparison to a human-being. One third of the employees should change jobs with the next 10–15 years or be unemployed otherwise. Pilot, driver, even actor, composer, trainer robots are on the way.
Harari claims that in this way a new class called as ‘deprecated’ will emerge, the contributions of the AI to the fields of health, a more comfortable life etc. for the advantage of the human-being could all be assessed as being adopted to an elite class of ‘super human-beings’ rather than to the whole humanity.
Until the transition is completed, AI which is assumed to process the data gathered better than us could make a decision in various vital areas such as what to eat, where to work, what to choose, whom to marry (depending on how the concept of ‘saying no’ is defined).
So, unless required arrangements are made, the World will be evolved into a digital dictatorship led by those who hold “big data’ within their hands, the human-being will bring his own destination with his own hands.
Perhaps, the claim made by Elon Musk “AI is more dangerous than nuclear bomb’ is correct.
We are being hallucinated within a simulation. Only the human-being (from a metaphysical dimension) in the sense of being wise, is with the Creator because of his soul in comparison to these values.
He is not any being who could not exist without 0’s as if being like a system processed by 0 and 1’s. “1” suffices! In order not to get imprisoned by the world of ebb and flows of 0 and 1’s, we can rule the chaos of the binary world with God’s permission if we can be steady on our heart’s path which is a sensing organ of the Oneness in order to transcend. Therefore, we should ask who fears the robot.
In conclusion, if the human-being can read his own fate, gets connected to the uninterrupted source, realizes that worldly kingdom, not to mention the burden of gathering data, is a praiseworthy thing, breaks the idols, gets awaken from this simulation, becomes free from the oppression he commits to himself, those with AI and robots can believe in “dataism” which is in fact a new version of the smattering we know well.
