Artificial Intelligence and the Traumatization of Human Culture

• In Event: 40811 - When Do Stories Work? Narrative Persuasion

Abstract

Since the dawn of the Modern era, we humans have generally believed ourselves unique in that we are alone in exhibiting a special sort of consciousness. In fact, for many, the ultimate value of human personhood is based on this unique quality: human persons are sacred because we exhibit a special sort of consciousness. Be that as it may, among the many questions that the advent of artificial intelligence poses are: What if human beings aren’t unique in possessing a distinctive form of consciousness? Specifically, What if machines develop this quality? It is plausible to suppose that if this eventuality comes to pass—or even if there is simply widespread belief that this eventuality has come to pass—it would come as a monumental shock to many people throughout society. Indeed, it would likely precipitate a cultural trauma. This paper traces out this traumatization process, a process that is already percolating in public discourse. Foundational to cultural trauma theory is the notion that collective identity is based on shared narratives. We are “us” precisely because we accept the stories that bind us together as a social group. However, when an event occurs that is understood as deeply disruptive, so disruptive that it simply cannot be assimilated into a group’s widely-accepted narrative of collective identity, trauma ensues. The group—if it is to remain unified—must then reconstruct its identity in light of this traumatic event. It must develop a new story to tell itself about itself, one that assimilates the traumatic event and renders it comprehensible. In the case of artificial intelligence and the imagined potential for synthetic consciousness, we are already witnessing the emergence of alternatives to traditional narratives regarding what it means to be a human person—new stories claiming to explain who we really were all along.

Author

• Todd Madigan, Coastal Carolina University