Can AI Redefine Consciousness?

Human consciousness and our sensory experiences might have room for improvement.

GPT Summary: Advances in AI, technology, and neural implants have the potential to enhance human consciousness and redefine our understanding of reality. Currently, our consciousness is limited by our narrow sensory bandwidth and inability to process large amounts of information. Technology could allow us to perceive aspects of the world beyond our current sensory abilities and create immersive virtual environments that alter our perceptions of reality. However, these developments also raise important questions about the nature of human consciousness and our relationship with technology. It remains to be seen how these advancements will ultimately affect our understanding of ourselves and the world around us or just allow us to wake up to a new nightmare.

The human brain is often recognized as the quintessential CPU. And the emergence of AI follows an upward, yet asymptotic path—closer and closer, but never crossing that mysterious threshold of humanity.

But let’s take a closer look. Our consciousness is limited by its narrow bandwidth, which allows us to process only a small fraction of the sensory input that our brain receives and processes. While we receive millions of bits of information every second, we can only consciously process a few bits per second. This means that our conscious experience lags behind the real world by at least half a second, and what we experience consciously is only a hypothesis of reality.

In addition to our limited conscious bandwidth, the human senses are far from definitive in their ability to perceive the physical realities of the world. We only perceive a fraction of the electromagnetic spectrum, meaning that our sense of sight is limited to a small range of wavelengths. Similarly, our sense of hearing is limited to a narrow range of frequencies, and our sense of smell is limited to certain chemical compounds. This raises the question of whether our sensory reality is just an illusion, and whether there are other aspects of the world that we are unable to perceive. Our sensory experience may not be an accurate representation of the world around us, but rather a limited and compressed version of events.

Our field of vision is only accurate in the area that we are focusing on, while the periphery is out of sharp focus. This is due to the fact that the center of the retina, known as the fovea, has a much higher density of photoreceptor cells, allowing for higher acuity and detail. As a result, we can only see things in sharp focus if they are located in the center of our visual field, while objects in the periphery are out of focus and appear blurry. This is why we need to move our eyes constantly to scan our environment and build a more complete picture of what is around us.

According to the book “The User Illusion” by Tor Norretranders, our consciousness represents only a tiny fraction of our ability to process information. As the author explains, “What we become aware of has typically already been processed by the brain. The brain discards millions of bits and compresses them into 20–50 in about 0.5 seconds. The time it takes for us to become aware of something.” This means that what we experience consciously is a highly compressed and lagging version of events, an illusion that may not fully represent the reality of the world around us.

This has important implications for our understanding of ourselves and our behavior. We have limited control over our non-conscious urges and desires, which arise before consciousness kicks in. We can exercise some control by consciously saying yes or no to these urges, but ultimately, our non-conscious mind plays a significant role in shaping our behavior.

Can technology play a role is reshaping and redefine human consciousness?

Advances in technology, AI, and neural implants have the potential to fundamentally change the reality of human consciousness. Neural implants, for example, could be used to enhance or augment our senses, potentially allowing us to perceive aspects of the world that are currently beyond our sensory abilities. AI could be used to analyze and interpret vast amounts of data, providing new insights into how the brain works and how we can optimize our cognitive abilities. In addition, technology has the potential to create immersive virtual environments that can alter our perceptions of reality.

As these technologies continue to develop, it raises important questions about the nature of human consciousness and our relationship with technology. How will our understanding of ourselves change as we become increasingly intertwined with technology? Will we ultimately be able to transcend the limits of our current conscious and sensory experience? These are emerging questions—for the philosopher and physiologist—that arise as we explore the intersection of technology and human consciousness.

Perhaps AI will change the user illusion into a more function and pragmatic reality. Or, we might wake up to a perceptual nightmare. It could happen in the blink of an eye.