NEWS
As part of the Bülbülzade Foundation events, Microsoft Projects Coordinator (E) Abdurrahman Bulut gave a lecture titled “The Digital Age, Dataism, and the Future of Humanity.” The program, held at Zade Life Hotel, was attended by many people interested in technology.
The lecture addressed topics such as the development process of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and the mystery of consciousness. Bulut touched upon which professions artificial intelligence will affect, why humans strive to create beings similar to themselves, and the need to examine consciousness from a scientific perspective. He also shared information about qualia, dualism, and the philosophy of dataism. In addition, he shared book and movie recommendations with participants to help them better understand artificial intelligence.
Following the presentation, Bulut drew attention to what needs to be done regarding the future of humanity, stating, “We must choose which world's values and which ontology's ethics to load into artificial intelligence. A new philosophy of technology based on our own unique, human-centered ontology is inevitable.”
“ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IS MADE BY IMITATING HUMAN INTELLIGENCE”
Emphasizing that the question of whether artificial intelligence will become conscious is based on an existential foundation, Bulut said, "Artificial intelligence is made by imitating human intelligence. Everything related to artificial intelligence is measured in relation to humans. Therefore, when we ask whether artificial intelligence will become conscious, the first question we should ask is: What is human consciousness? What is consciousness? How can a machine possess it? Now, the real question that should be asked is this: Beyond the question of whether it will become conscious, or along with that, why is humanity, at this point in the industrial revolution process, at the cutting edge of technology, trying to create a being similar to itself? We have never seen anything like this before. No technological product has ever given us this feeling. When we talk to it, when we write to it, it writes like a human being. Its body resembles ours. Its intelligence, its words, its language resemble ours. We have never seen anything like this before. We have never even felt this with a computer. Why is humanity doing this? The human desire to create is not new," he said.
“EVERYTHING IS TURNING INTO A DIGITAL FOOTPRINT. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS PRIVACY.”
Referring to the end of privacy and confidentiality in the digital world, Bulut said, “Everything you use in all digital environments is recorded. Today, we store around 70 GB of data per person worldwide. Ten years ago, it was around 500 MB, and this rate is steadily increasing. Everything the new generation of children do online—all the games they play, all their social media—is turning into a digital footprint. There is no such thing as privacy.”
“ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WILL AFFECT ONTOLOGY”
Emphasizing that there will be a choice in the near future that will affect ontology, Bulut said, “First, the question ‘What is consciousness?’ is actually equivalent to the question ‘Who am I?’. This is important in terms of defining ourselves. Second, with advancing technology, when entities capable of human-like experiences emerge in the future—that is, in the second or third phase of artificial intelligence—when we encounter machines with highly developed bodies that can comprehensively mimic human behavior, what will we do if these entities claim to feel pain or commit a crime? This situation is directly related to the ontology that will be chosen."
“WE MUST DEVELOP A NEW TECHNOLOGY PHILOSOPHY BASED ON OUR HUMAN-CENTERED ONTOLOGY”
Explaining the ontology-technology relationship and what needs to be done regarding artificial intelligence, Abdurrahman Bulut said, “What should we do? We must decide which world's values and which ontology's ethics to load into artificial intelligence. We must develop a new technology philosophy based on our own unique, human-centered ontology.”
Following the question-and-answer session, Turgay Aldemir, President of the Bülbülzade Foundation, presented a plaque to Abdurrahman Bulut, (E) Microsoft Projects Coordinator, in recognition of his contributions.
