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AI or artificial intelligence is already here, and it will be for the foreseeable future. Some scientists even predict that they will reach the singularity sooner than we expected. That means their intelligence will surpass that of humans until we can’t comprehend or understand them at all.
When we reach this point, where we are already currently headed, merging AI with humanity might be one of the paths forward. However, what you probably did not expect is that time might arrive sooner than we ever expected, according to this expert.
Visionaries See a Human–AI Fusion
Futurist Ray Kurzweil predicts that by around 2045, humans will merge with AI, reaching the singularity. This will be done to increase our intelligence by a million times, and most likely because AI at that point has far surpassed humans in almost every field imaginable.
Using various technologies that are predicted to arrive in the future, such as nanobots, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), and cloud connectivity, we might just be able to merge AI. He believes that this is not a fiction anymore, and that because of our own greed and desire to strive for a better technology, we would just end up changing humanity forever.
Read more: Popular Mechanics
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Brain Interfaces Are Already Here
Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) like Neuralink and BrainGate are already here; those are technologies that allow humans to control their devices without touching them. With the use of their thoughts, and this technology being able to read them and pass them on as instructions to computers, new inventions that hopefully make our lives better are on the way.
Some examples will be helping paralyzed patients be able to control their limbs again. It could also enhance cognitive and sensory capabilities for people who are currently lacking them. If humans and AI were to merge in the future, this technology, brain-computer interfaces or BCIs, will be one of the keys.
Experts Predict We’ll Reach AGI Soon
Artificial General Intelligence or AGI is a form of AI that will be capable of learning, thinking, and creating as good a humans in almost every domain. Experts predict that we will be able to achieve it by 2040 to 2050. By this time, most of the AI models we have will probably already be smarter than most, if not all, humans.
If AGI arrives, the merging of humans and AI could follow next, because this will mean that their intelligence will be able to help us in all areas of our lives. That is one of the paths for humans to not get left behind by the smarter machines that they have created, the integration of those very machines into our brains.
Read more: AI Multiple
What This Could Mean for Us
This is just a theory or a hypothetical point because with intelligence comes unpredictability and the discovery of something unknown. However, if we do merge with AI, it should be for the good and not because we are trying to achieve immortality and a God-like level of intelligence and ability to create.
What it should focus on is treating diseases, improving cognitive abilities and memory, and extending our lifespan, where health is still sustainable. However, it also raises a lot of questions about ethics and identity. If we are all connected to the same AI models that are smarter than all of us, then it could redefine what it means to be human.
Author's Final Thoughts
So, what if you were given the option to fuse with AI to get smarter and healthier, would you accept that choice? The majority of human beings today, especially the ones born earlier than most, will probably say no. However, we can not be sure about how future generations will feel towards it. After all, they will be the first group of humans who will have never experienced a world without AI.
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