Human being or being human

Lina Myte Pascal

Hello great beyond!

I’m a randomly selected person who was pulled off the street and asked to represent all of humanity. The researcher’s first choice of writer was an AI robot, but it disappointed him so here I am.

My first reaction when the dishevelled researcher approached me, his eyes heavy with desperation-triggered pain, was a firm no.

‘I not really a writer,” I tried.

‘That’s fine. We just need you to be human.

‘A human being, you mean?’

‘No! We need you to be human’.

I didn’t ask for further clarifications since the raw pain in the researcher’s eyes clearly overwhelmed him. Instead, I asked what instructions the AI robot had been given. They were simple: “Imagine that you are in a galaxy far away. Now describe all of humanity on planet Earth”.

‘It doesn’t understand us’, the researcher moaned as he handed over his phone. ‘Its answer is monstrous’.

I grabbed the slick smartphone and saw the colourful AI logo, as familiar to me as my own ten fingers. The answer was well written:

“As an AI language model, I can certainly imagine being in a galaxy far away and describe humanity on planet Earth. Humanity has created complex technologies, from simple stone tools to advanced artificial intelligence, and have used them to manipulate the world around it. Humanity has caused significant harm to itself and the planet. It is responsible for wars, violence, and exploitation of resources, resulting in environmental degradation and social inequalities. That is what the term ‘human being’ means.”

I have to admit that the answer was painful for me as well. I’m still trying to grasp why. Does it hurt because it isn’t true? Does it hurt because it is true? Or does it hurt because it was written about us, but not by us?

Regardless, here is my answer to the same question:

“As a human being, I can certainly imagine being in a galaxy far away and describe humanity on planet Earth. Humanity has created complex technologies, from simple stone tools to advanced artificial intelligence, and we have used them to manipulate the world around us. We have caused significant harm to us and the planet. We are responsible for wars, violence, and exploitation of resources, resulting in environmental degradation and social inequalities. Please accept our apologies. The negative consequences of our manipulation were never our true intention. We are compassionate, caring, and kind creatures that, at the end of the day, are only trying to make the world a better place for those we love. For as long as our planet remains, we will keep on trying. Thank you and… we are sorry. This is what it means to be human.”

The researcher asked to see the text, but I pressed “submit” before he could stop me. Why I disobeyed him, I do not know. Perhaps I just wanted to make sure that you, whoever or whatever you are, would read our unedited apology.