Human and artificial intelligences, between potential and limitations

Not a day goes by without the media discussing the recent and extraordinary advances in Artificial Intelligence. In all sectors, from aerospace engineering to medicine, from art to everyday activities, programs are being created that relieve us of repetitive and boring tasks, or that we are simply unable to perform, carrying them out with a precision, patience and meticulousness that far exceed our human capabilities. It is truly revolutionary to have machines that can perform complex calculations in a few seconds, or a refrigerator that warns us when the milk is about to expire. However, we ask ourselves a question: what happens when this technology becomes so pervasive that it appropriates skills that we have always considered unique and intrinsically ours?

In her latest essay, entitled The Future is Already Here (Mondadori, 2024, pp. 282, also e-book), the writer and science communicator Barbara Gallavotti helps us understand what Artificial Intelligence is and consequently what promises it can keep or threats it can represent. Above all, she highlights the profound differences between the way our brain works and that of the tools we have invented, an unavoidable question when talking about AI. In fact, we must strive to understand that Artificial Intelligence has capabilities that our brain will never be able to match. For example, it is able to consider a considerable number of variables, integrate enormous quantities of data and perform complex calculations at speeds inconceivable for the human mind. It can perform all these operations and much more, but it does not really understand what it is processing. And this is simply because this type of Intelligence has very little to do with the functioning of the human brain.

Our brain is an extraordinary organ, capable of continuously learning, generating new ideas and re-elaborating any information. It is truly one of a kind. Unlike AI programs, which are hyper-specialized and must deal with high energy consumption to perform their functions, the human brain is multitasking : it can juggle different activities such as dancing, calculating, cooking and conversing . Creating an artificial intelligence capable of performing the same operations as the human brain would involve unsustainable size and consumption. Furthermore, unlike humans, AI cannot experience emotions , a fundamental ability for our experience. In essence, artificial intelligence is made up of computer programs that are based on probability: AI generates sentences and builds narratives based simply on the probability that one word follows another. For this reason, it is essential to use it with careful and conscious management because without control it can make huge mistakes . It is essential to recognize that humans cannot and should not delegate total control to this tool. Artificial Intelligence is designed to assist humans, not replace them . This technology is incapable of discerning between good and evil; if not properly managed, it could provide potentially dangerous responses. It is up to us to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to understand when Artificial Intelligence makes mistakes and mishandles the data at its disposal.

Faced with a technology of this kind, destined to change the trajectory of human development, the choice of the role to be assigned to the new technology in our lives belongs to us, as individuals and as a community. It is our task to ensure that the one we are entering is above all the era of Natural Intelligence: the era in which more than ever we will be able to take advantage of what we have invented. The era in which more than ever we will demonstrate the ability to make choices, to take decisions and to direct our future. The more powerful the machines and technologies at your disposal, the more you must use your brain to govern them.