Human as AI. The Convergence of Mind and Machine. Sergey Green
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The elderly man smiled. "Welcome, John," he said, surprising John by knowing his name. "We're not the Resistance, as you might have thought. We're just people who've decided to live consciously. And we're here to help others do the same if they want to."
John sat down with the group, feeling a mixture of fear and excitement. He didn't know where this conversation would lead him, but for the first time in a long while, he felt truly alive.
Somewhere in the distance, a faint alarm sounded – his AI assistant was probably trying to contact him. But John no longer paid attention to it. He was ready to hear a new story – a story about how to reclaim one’s humanity in a world where technology seemed to have taken over everything.
Chapter 10: On the Edge of Two Worlds
John sat in a circle of strangers, feeling his heart pounding in his throat. The elderly man, who had introduced himself as Michael, looked at him with a warm smile.
"John, we've been observing you for some time," Michael began. "We noticed how you sometimes stop in the middle of the street, as if trying to remember something. How you look at the world without the filter of your neuro-interface."
John flinched. He hadn't realized that anyone could notice these moments of weakness, these brief pauses in his perfectly tuned digital life.
"But… how did you know my name?" John asked, still not fully trusting what was happening.
The woman sitting next to Michael laughed softly. "Oh, John, it's so easy to learn someone's name in this world. We just had to see how you react to advertisements addressed personally to you. We're simply… observant."
John felt his face flush. He had never thought about how open his life was to those who knew where to look.
"Tell us, John," Michael continued, "what do you feel now, without your neuro-interface?"
John closed his eyes, trying to focus on his sensations. It was strange – describing what he felt, rather than what he saw through a digital filter.
"I… I feel naked," he finally said. "As if a part of me is missing. The world seems… too bright, too loud. But at the same time… more real?"
He opened his eyes and saw everyone in the group nodding with understanding.
"Now," said Michael, holding out John's neuro-interface, which had somehow ended up in his possession, "put it on for a minute and tell us what you see."
John hesitated. Part of him craved to return to the familiar world of digital comfort. But another part feared losing this new, sharp sense of reality.
Finally, he put on the interface. The world changed instantly. Bright colors were muted, replaced by a soft, eye-pleasing glow. Infographics appeared around each person in the group, showing their estimated age, mood, social status. Advertisements on nearby buildings came to life, urging John to return to his daily viewing quota.
But the strangest thing was that the people in the group he had just been talking to now seemed… less real. Their faces became slightly smoother, their movements a bit more predictable. As if the neuro-interface was trying to fit them into some familiar template, to make them more "normal" by its standards.
John tore off the interface and took a deep breath, feeling reality crash back into him in all its unfiltered intensity.
"This… this is terrible," he whispered. "I never realized how… distorted my perception was."
Michael nodded. "Exactly, John. The neuro-interface doesn't just augment reality – it rewrites it. It creates a world that seems more comfortable, more predictable. But in the process, we lose something incredibly valuable – our ability to see the world and people as they truly are."
John felt a conflict brewing inside him. On one hand, the world without the neuro-interface seemed frightening and chaotic. On the other, he felt that only now was he beginning to truly see and feel.
"But how… how do you live like this?" he asked, looking around the group. "Aren't you afraid? Don't you feel… cut off from the world?"
A young woman sitting opposite him smiled. "At first, it was scary, John. We've all been through it. But then… then you start noticing things you've never seen before. You begin to feel a connection with people and the world around you that no interface can simulate."
John looked at his neuro-interface lying on the grass. He knew he was at a crossroads. Return to the cozy, predictable world of digital comfort or take a step into the unknown, into a world full of vivid colors and real emotions?
At that moment, his neuro-interface came to life, projecting a hologram. "John, your stress level is critically elevated. Immediate return home for medication and a relaxation session is recommended."
John looked at the hologram, then at the people around him. Their faces were alive, real, with wrinkles and imperfections. In their eyes, he saw empathy, understanding, and something else… hope?
He took a deep breath and made his choice.
"I… I want to know more," he said, looking at Michael. "I don't know if I'm ready to completely give up the neuro-interface right now, but I want to learn to live without it. I want to learn to see the world with my own eyes again."
Michael smiled and extended his hand. "Welcome, John. Your journey is just beginning."
John took his hand, feeling the warmth of human touch. There was a long road ahead, but for the first time in a long time, he felt truly alive.
And the neuro-interface continued to blink on the grass, its alarm signals growing quieter and quieter until they finally fell silent altogether.
Chapter 11: Anchors and Self-Fulfilling Prophecies in the Age of AI
John sat in a small room that the group of "awakened" used for their meetings. Michael stood at the board, preparing to start today's discussion.
"Today, we'll talk about two important concepts," Michael began. "About the anchors in a person's life and the theory of self-fulfilling prophecies. And, as always, we'll draw parallels with the world of AI."
John leaned forward with interest. Over the past few weeks, he had learned a lot about how the world works without constant AI intervention, but each new topic opened up something new for him.
"So, anchors," Michael continued. "A person has two types of anchors: internal and external. Internal ones are our skills, experience, knowledge. External ones are material things, status, even some relationships."
He drew two columns on the board: "Internal" and "External".
"John, can you give examples of your anchors?" Michael asked.
John thought for a moment.