The Human Touch

2007, A Brain Odessey


It seems to me that technology and curiosity are innately interwoven in the fabric of human evolution, and are perhaps the leading drivers in the human condition. It is not by accident that Linnaeus classified humans as genus; Homo, and species; sapiens. Homo meaning man or person, and sapiens roughly translating as wise, sensible, judicious. The speaker of the conference linked to above is Kwabena Boahen, a PhD. of Computation and Neural Science and MSE of Electrical and Computer Engineering (Kwabena Boahen). The narrative of the lecture is his ongoing development of the most efficient computer possible, without sacrificing processing power. In his eyes, the model of the human brain is the answer. The ramifications of releasing a computer that equals, and potentially exceeds the output of a human brain are exponential. Will the pros outweigh the cons? What will we learn about our brain in order to accurately replicate it's capability? The point in time when this technology is widely available to the public is inevitable. It is my opinion the human-computer relationship should always be modeled as the metaphor of a sophisticated race car, which is depicted as the human always being the stop. In other words, the machine operates optimally with constant calculations from computer sensors, allowing for faster and safer races, but humans are the integral component and beneficiaries of technological improvements. The fruits of computing have positively contributed to diminishing human suffering, and in my opinion, will continue to enable our successful existence, and ensure our survival.

The steering wheel of a Formula 1 race car.