layout: single title: “Kai-Fu Lee and Augmented Intelligence” tags: tech machine-learning art google microsoft
Kai-Fu Lee begins his Wired article A Blueprint for Coexistence with Artificial Intelligence with a very personal opening. In 2013, Lee was diagnosed with late-stage lymphoma and “one of [his] strongest feelings was an instant, irretrievable, and painful regret…I was wracked with remorse over not spending more time sharing love with the people I cared about most.”
Luckily, his treatments have been effective and his cancer is now in remission. Lee writes:
The answer I propose would never have come to me when I was myself somewhat of an automaton, living to work rather than the other way around. It was only my cancer diagnosis, and the sudden realization of what my own stupidity had made me miss, that led me to my suggestion. Our coexistence with artificial intelligence hinges on combining what is humanly unattainable—the hugely scaled narrow AI intelligence that will only get better at any given domain—with what we humans can uniquely offer to one another. And that is love. What makes us human is that we can love.
We are far from understanding the human “heart,” let alone replicating it. But we do know that humans are uniquely able to love and be loved…Loving and being loved are what makes our lives worthwhile.
Love is what will always differentiate us from AI. Narrow AI has no self awareness, emotions, or a “heart.” Narrow AI has no sense of beauty, fun, or humor. It doesn’t even have feelings or self-consciousness. Can you imagine the ecstasy that comes from beating a world champion? AlphaGo bested the globe’s best player, but took no pleasure in the game, felt no happiness from winning, and had no desire to hug a loved one after its victory.
Lee then goes on to detail his proposal of pairing the best of machines and the best of humans:
Love is what is missing from machines. That’s why we must pair up with them, to leaven their powers with what only we humans can provide. Your future AI diagnostic tool may well be 10 times more accurate than human doctors, but patients will not want a cold pronouncement from the tool: “You have fourth stage lymphoma and a 70 percent likelihood of dying within five years.” That in itself would be harmful. Patients would benefit, in health and heart, from a “doctor of love” who will spend as much time as the patient needs, always be available to discuss their case, and who will even visit the patients at home. This doctor might encourage us by sharing stories such as, “Kai-Fu had the same lymphoma, and he survived, so you can too.” This kind of “doctor of love” would not only make us feel better and give us greater confidence, but would also trigger a placebo effect that would increase our likelihood of recuperation. Meanwhile, the AI tool would watch the Q&A between the “doctor of love” and the patient carefully, and then optimize the treatment. If scaled across the world, the number of “doctors of love” would greatly outnumber today’s doctors.
The same idea could apply to lawyers, teachers, accountants, and wedding planners. In innumerable instances, excellent AI tools may emerge, but the “human-to-human” interface is critical to ensuring we feel listened to and cared for when we encounter important life events. We should encourage more people to go into service careers, choosing the ones into which they can pour their hearts and souls, spreading their love and experiences…We should also work hard to invent new service jobs that deliver joy and love.
Lee has studied AI for four decades and did groundbreaking work during and after his PhD in language processing. I like that he is adding his voice against the robot apocalypse doom-sayers and proposing a more hopeful vision that we can push towards.
I like the idea of using AI as an acronym for augmented intelligence rather than artificial intelligence. Like many of the tools humans have invented, AI will work best when its capabilities are paired thoughtfully with humans so both are doing what they each do best together.
One area of disagreement. In addition to love, humans have a capacity for expression, art, and making meaning that I think will be additive to computers for a long time to come. As I noted in my Twitter exchange with Jon Evans, visual art, literature, poetry, dance, music, and many other forms of creative expression need to be folded in to this important conversation.