A thought our... or suggested?
Have you ever tried to formulate a thought, and then discovering that an algorithm had already anticipated? A post suggested, a perfect advertising, a notification that it seems to read in the mind. We live in an era in which artificial intelligence is becoming more and more present in the processes that affect our perception of the worldand then also our identity. But if the thoughts that we are in part the result of content selected by a machine we can still talk about subjectivity authentic?
Subjectivity is what makes us unique: our experiences, ideas, feelings, and interpretations. But the AI, with its ability to anticipate, adapt to and suggest, is part of this process with increasing force. We are still masters of our thoughts? Or are we becoming co-authors unconscious, guided by the logic predictor?
What is the subjectivity and why it is in the game
Subjectivity is the inner experience of each individual in the world. This is what distinguishes us from one another: our perspective, the way we feel and interpret what is happening. It is not only a philosophical question, but a central aspect of our autonomy, cognitive.
When we read a book, when we remember an event, when we express an opinion, we exercise our subjectivity. But today, many of the content with which we come into contact with are filtered, sorted and optimized by algorithms. This means that our view of the world comes not only from what we choose, but from what is shown.
As we have described in the article “Our brain in the information age algorithmic”AI is not limited to propose contents: model actively in the contexts in which we think. And this changes the rules of the game.
How TO intervene in the construction of thought
The artificial intelligence working with data: our click, the reading times, the words used in the messages, the navigation paths. On the basis of this information, constructs a representation predictive of who we are. And delivers content that underpin that representation.
This dynamic occurs every day in social media, search engines, platforms, news and entertainment. But also in apps of writing aided in the chatbot conversational, in the systems of auto suggestion. The AI does not obligate us to think in a certain way, but there accompanies in one directionoften without realising it.
We have also seen in the “The mind and the digital multi-tasking: the illusion of the efficiency with the AI”, where it emerges as the fragmentation of the attention created by notifications and suggestions to reduce the space for deep thought and personal.
Real-world examples, and practical implications
Imagine you want to search for information on a delicate issue. The results that you get online are not neutral: they are ordered according to criteria that are algorithmic. If your digital profile you assign to certain ideas, you'll see content that confirm this. This effect filter bubble you can narrow the field of reflection and reinforce biases.
In the field of education, an assistant can simplify the learning. But if there is no room for error, at the discovery, to the personal reflection, and risks outsource critical thinking a system that generalises.
Also in journalism, tools TO generate items based on trend, optimized for engagement. The problem is not the automatic generation, but the absence of a subjectivity true. An article written by a machine, may be consistent, but it is only an imitation of the human voice.
How to highlights Shannon Vallorphilosopher of technology, interviewed by Vox, the real risk of artificial intelligence is that it develops a conscience is autonomous, but that we no longer exercise ourby trusting us blindly to his decisions. The AI can mimic the nuances of human language and replicate the emotions learned from the data, but can't live an authentic experience.
Also The Guardianin an experiment with a chatbot inspired by the philosopher Peter Singer (source), showed the limits of the depths of human interaction: the intelligence is there, but it lacks the consciousness, the real understanding of the existential.
Finally, an analysis of the Financial Times (source), warns of the risk of humanize too these technologiesby their feelings or intentions, which do not possess. The subjectivity remains a hallmark of the human being, and the AI, no matter how advanced, can not replace it.
FAQ – frequently asked Questions
The AI think in our place?
No. But it can affect the way we think, driving the information that we receive and the decisions we make.
It is possible to maintain the subjectivity in the age of AI?
Yes, but it requires awareness. Need to distinguish between what is being proposed and what we choose to be actively involved.
The AI can be used in a positive way to stimulate thinking?
Yes. If designed with the intention of ethics, can offer suggestions, alternatives, questions. But it must leave space for the unexpected, to the ambiguity, to the personal voice.
Think it's still a human act
Be masters of their own thoughts today also means to understand how the same thinking is influenced. This is not to reject the technology, but to learn to live with it without getting lost.
Artificial intelligence is a powerful support. But it can't replace the lived experience, the doubt, the comparison. Subjectivity is not a fault but a value to be preserved. Because it is there that comes the creativity, critical sense, the authenticity.
As pointed out by Scientific American in the article “Is Art Created by AI Really Art?” David Pogue, human creativity is born from the lived experience, from intuition, from the error, memory, emotional. Artificial intelligence can generate surprising works, but it does so on the basis of statistical models, not personal experience.
Finally, the venture deeper is TO get too creative, but that we we lose the human sense of the create. As highlighted in “AI Is an Existential Threat—Just Not the Way You Think” the real threat is the erosion, the gradual of our ability to think and imagine for themselves.