Man and machine have a close and intricate connection. Man created machines to improve his life, and since then, these two have been instrumental in each other’s development. Human beings have toiled day and night to develop and enhance machines. Those machines, in turn, helped man design other devices, develop themselves further, and lead a better life. Since the days of yore, technological development has always been about the betterment of human lives through advancements in science and technology.
It does not take a genius to realize that man and machine enjoy a symbiotic relationship. Each makes the other better, which goes on in an incessant loop. With the advent of machine intelligence, this symbiotic relationship is proliferating unlike anything before.
This article casts a curious glance at this symbiosis of man and machine.
Man and Machine
A quick look at the world around us reveals numerous instances of man-machine interaction. A person driving any vehicle, using electronic devices, surfing the Internet, or even switching on the light are examples of such interactions. Unfortunately, however, most generic man-machine interactions are not symbiotic. Instead, it is one-sided, with machines serving as tools and mere extensions of a man.
The biological definition of symbiosis points out a close, long-term interaction between two entities.
When it comes to man and machine, generic interactions with non-intelligent machines are NOT instances of a symbiotic relationship. However, symbiosis comes into the picture when we consider humanity developing machinery & technologies for improving life & livelihood, and society.
Man’s pursuit of excellence and prosperity plays a critical role in the development & innovation of technology. And that’s symbiosis at its best!
With the advent of computers and AI, the man-machine symbiosis became more evident and tangible.
The Ultimate Symbiosis Of Man and Technology Through AI
As we humans looked to expand and enhance our lives, ground-breaking research, amazing discoveries & concerted hard work led to the birth of advanced machines. Progress was inexorable, and the rise & development of digital computational & telecommunication systems were watershed moments in human history.
Very soon, inquisitive intellectuals tried to determine the exact nature of intelligence and the possibility to write a good assignment. Humans have dissected the ideas and concepts behind intelligence for years. The proposal of abstract computational devices such as the Turing Machine led to the widespread proliferation of such ideas. The 1950s witnessed the first conceptualization of Artificial Intelligence. Since then, striding advancements in electronics & computer engineering have occurred, and today, we have machines that can learn through interactions.
The man-computer symbiosis is a subset of the man-machine symbiotic system. In the last ten years, the proliferation of AI has made man-tech symbiosis much more prevalent. Before the proliferation of AI systems, the symbiosis between man and machine was quite abstract, existing at a socio-economic level through epochs of tech advancements.
Now, the concept of intelligence is no longer confined to living entities. Instead, machines can learn and improve their performance by interacting with users & the world. This is the ultimate symbiosis of man and technology.
Both man and machine stand to gain from such an intertwined relationship. AI has enabled machines to be more than just extensions but the near-perfect human symbiote. Man performs tasks better thanks to a machine, and the machine becomes better at that task!
AI: The Biggest Example Of Man-Technology Symbiosis
The last decade saw unprecedented advancements in the field of machine intelligence.
Today, AI, machine learning, deep learning, and artificial neural networks have become prominent across the world of technology. AI systems can analyze data closely and extract insights, which they use to improve their work & performance. Therefore, automation is one of the primary targets of AI development. Automated machines, powered by AI, learn & become better at their tasks by observing & learning and, in turn, help achieve a specific objective better.
And symbiosis stems from the fact that our lives become better with AI and the AI becomes better as we use it more & more!
Let us look at some prominent examples of man-technology symbiosis through AI.
- Machine learning and computer vision together have made cars driverless. We can sit back and relax while technological entity drives the vehicle. And, the more we permit it to drive, the better driver it becomes!
- Alexa, Siri, Cortana– Deep-learning and artificial neural networks power today’s most prominent virtual assistants. These AI techniques can understand intentions, intonations, emotions, context, and intent. They can perform various tasks and become better with every use.
There may come a day when they start to provide psychotherapy!
- Natural Language Processing and its sub-domains Natural Language Understanding & Natural Language Generation are enhancing man-technology symbiosis drastically.
AI-powered chatbots, personal assistants, web crawlers, AI ghostwriters, grammar checkers, etc., are some significant examples where intelligent machines understand & react to human interactions. Thanks to computational linguistics and machine learning, these systems can understand all aspects of natural human language.
- Robotics is another domain that embraces AI and process automation technologies. This is yet another prominent example of man-machine symbiosis.
- Elon Musk’s Neuralink might be the next step (even a huge stride) in man-technology symbiosis. The billionaire entrepreneur is developing electronic chips that interact directly with the human brain’s neural pathways.
In its nascent stage, the project still has miles to go but could eventually change how humans interact with machines.
A human being interacting with an AI-powered system, no matter how simple, is one of the most prominent examples of the man-technology symbiosis. This is because the very concept of AI systems involves using analytics to gather knowledge from data. That data source can be BIG DATASETS or the QUERIES & RESPONSES of a HUMAN BEING.
The last ten years saw commands that trigger processes become automated and event-driven. Technology is now able to understand human language and emotions. They can anticipate intent and moods, depending on previous interactions just as humans can. The last few years saw many industries & applications require minimal human supervision. AI systems are now able to perform tasks excellently with minimum guidance.
This is the age of intelligent automation, the pinnacle of man-technology symbiosis in current times.
And, the future of man-tech symbiosis is looking brighter than ever before.
Key Takeaway: The benefits of man-tech symbiosis are great, and the future implications are pretty promising. AI developments are the next step forward, and humanity is on its way to entering a better & more tangible symbiotic relationship with technology.
Yet, we must overlook or forego the ethical issues involved. Instead, we need to ensure that the ideas behind man-machine symbiosis must be free of all biases and used for humanity’s benefit. And, here’s hoping the dystopian scenarios of science fiction do not come to pass by!
And that wraps up this write-up. I hope this article was informative & exciting enough for all readers alike. Do come back here for more interesting articles on the latest trending topics!
Take Care!
