In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Data, the android character, is stronger and tougher than any human. His memory is more accurate, and his brain is much faster. He was built to last for hundreds of years. Data is clearly better than humans in many ways. More recently, a Russian science fiction television series called, Better Than Us, explored the possibility of an advanced android model, able to stand in for humans and in most situations, perform better.
Will AI one day outperform humans? In some ways it already has. There has been a lot of interest in this topic lately. As the technology develops, many wonder what its limits will be. What was once science fiction is now becoming reality, so it’s clear we’d better make some decisions before it’s too late. Nevertheless, androids and AI are not my main concerns here. We have a much more ancient problem to overcome.
For thousands of years, humans have been obsessed with who among them would be in charge, and who would serve, in other words, who is better. There are numerous examples: caste systems, apartheid, Jim Crow laws, ghettos, concentration camps, enslavement, ethnic cleansing, divine right of kings, a permanent under-class, elite private schools, poorly funded public schools, and a few people living in multiple mansions, while many have no homes at all. Expressions such as, “stick to your own kind,” “know your place,” “respect your betters,” and “the cream rises to the top” are part of our life experience.
In the Aristotelian worldview, we rise, or fall, based on merit, because we “deserve” it. I was told to work hard, or I might end up being a ditch digger. We all want to be on top. Wars have been fought to establish dominance, to further the kingdom, the empire, the Reich, or the church, in other words, to make sure those who are “better” get the best land and most resources. Yet force doesn’t make us better.
At the risk of offending someone, it seems to me part of the motivation for private schools and home schooling is that some parents don’t want their children to associate with “those people.” Many people reject immigrants for the same reason. Some see themselves as “better than those people,” or at least believe “those people aren’t good enough.” These views hold true for anyone who is somehow different from accepted norms. Some who wish to be on top become so aggrieved, they shout, “Jews will not replace us!” or suggest that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.”
I’m not trying to point the finger of blame here. I am human. Part of human nature is to choose sides, to decide which side is “better,” and become loyal to that side, often regardless of facts or rational argument. We naturally want to feel we are better than those on the other side. The trouble is, being better is often subjective. Who was better, loyal Americans who locked Japanese Americans in camps, or vice-versa? What will our loyalties mean if we choose the wrong side? We might think we are better, but what if we support criminality or cruelty in the name of loyalty? A wise man should switch sides when he is proven wrong.
When I watched the coverage of Charlottesville in 2017, I thought, “You guys are right. Jews will not replace you. But Robots will.” We must be careful when we assert our superiority. No group remains in power forever. All political parties eventually fail. All walls will fall. So, we must be humble, for “there is none righteous, no not one.” Jesus said, “The meek shall inherit the earth,” not those with a superiority complex.
Consider the following:
And then a dispute arose among them as to who should be considered the most important. But Jesus said to them, “Among the heathen it is their kings who lord it over them, and their rulers are given the title of ‘benefactors.’ But it must not be so with you! Your greatest man must become like a junior and your leader must be a servant. Who is the greater, the man who sits down to dinner or the man who serves him? Obviously, the man who sits down to dinner—yet I am the one who is the servant among you.” [Luke 22: 24-27]
Perhaps the one who is better is the one who serves.
MurrayWorks 