Co-Evolution: The Intertwined Histories of Humans and Machines
From Ancient Tools to Posthumans
There is this great researcher I came across Lucy A. Suchman who worked in the legendary Xerox PARC in the 80s and 90s and is probably one of the most interesting minds regarding human-machine interactions not only because of her incredible career but also because of her insights and visions on the interaction between us and our technology might give us some insight towards where we are heading.
In her book "Human-Machine Reconfigurations: Plans and Situated Actions" Suchman examines the interaction and dynamics between humans and machines. It explores the evolving conceptualizations of this relationship, emphasizing the performative nature of both humans and machines. The book critically assesses the rhetoric and practices in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics, advocating for a nuanced understanding that avoids divides. Suchman proposes an expanded analytical approach that considers specific socio-material arrangements and their emergent properties, aiming to trace differences without resorting to binary categorizations.
Which in a nutshell provides us with a very interesting outlook on how not to separate and distance ourselves so much from our technology and how the interactions we have with it mold our perception of technology and the next generation in something of a recursive cycle of feedback loops building upon each other. So it is not so much the “everything looks like a nail with a hammer” but more of an “as we use the hammer it changes us and with that, we change the hammer” which I think is a beautiful way to see and have a border perception on how we influence technology and it influences us. As we can see in today's world is a deep relationship the one where we have with our technology to the point that we are reaching into a symbiotic relationship of needs and wants intertwined between us.
Unpacking Suchman's Perspective
Suchman’s work and her overall philosophy of human-machine interactions came like a revelation during her peak influence in the early 2000s when most technologies were still being seen as functional pieces of machinery that made something or solved a problem and humans just interacted with them in isolation. Not necessarily isolation in the sense that they operate machinery in uncomfortable or non-ergonomic positions – no, that’s something for others to study– What I mean is that ever since the Industrial Revolution or probably even longer before that the dominant vision of the relationship of humanity and our technology was very much separate. With humanity on one side and technology on the other side, our interactions with technology were very much limited to “person grabs a tool and does a thing with it” Not much thought was put into the design of most things beyond “try to solve X problem” and then efficiency kicked in and we added “with the least amount of resources possible”
With the rise of computing and digital technologies, both of these advancements brought a whole new perspective of human-machine interactions because it was no longer only outsourcing human muscle to do tasks and modify the physical world but the rise of computing overall changed the technological paradigm of humanity because it had a physical component by the interfaces we interacted with our technology but also a virtual component this meta physical level if you will. A level that was affected by human cognition and enhanced it accelerating the capacity for people to do more things develop new ideas and accelerate the computing power that was before being done by human brains could now be done by digital ones. This shift brought deep changes to how we interact with our physical world.
One way this Human-Machine interaction evolves could be described with the introduction of digital computers, which shifted the dynamic from humans adapting to machines to machines being designed to respond to human actions. This change led to more intuitive, user-centric designs, allowing for more natural and effective interactions between humans and technology.
The Essence of Symbiotic Relationships
And the key part that we can see is the permeation of technology into every aspect of our lives. Because technology is an inherent part of our nature. I would even go on a limb and say it’s humanity’s most important feature, is what took us as a species to the places that we are, it is the poietic nature of human intellect combined with our imagination to bring forth ideas and imaginations unto reality. To modify matter and the physical world to make these imaginations real. And to turn what was once the far-distant dreams of a crazy innovator of the past into what today we might consider the most mundane thing ever.
That is how we have been doing it since we decided to sharpen a piece of rock and tie it to a stick, to the latest developments in virtual reality. Technology has only made life better and better for us it has broadened our horizons it has given us the capacity to build upon the knowledge of our species and construct a more and more complex world rising above and beyond the restrictions and limitations of our muscles and our brains outsourcing and specializing making us capable of all the things we can be doing right now as a species instead of subsistence farming and miserable pre-industrial life-expectancies.
In this context, Lucy Suchman's "Human-Machine Reconfigurations" shows us that a symbiotic relationship in human-machine interactions is not just about technology aiding humans, but about an integrated system where both elements evolve together. This shift from traditional, separate entities to interdependent, collaborative systems marks a significant transformation. Early examples of such symbiosis can be seen in advanced AI applications, smart home systems, and assistive robotics, which not only perform specific tasks but also adapt and respond to human behavior and preferences, illustrating the beginning stages of this profound integration.
Co-Evolution
This profound integration could almost be seen as a Co-evolution between humans and the technology we have built and it can be seen as the history of humanity itself because just Like Kevin Kelly’s work in his Book “What Technology Wants” shows us is that we’ve outsourced so much of human capabilities in our technologies and the benefits this has given to us. An example of this in very primitive ways is the invention of cooking our meals from something as basic as roasting vegetables and meat on an open flame it helped us to preserve food but also it was an outsourcing of our stomachs on breaking down food and extracting nutrients so cooked meals saved us up some very precious calories needed so with that excessive energy we could do more and better things.
The trend doesn’t seem like it will change if we’ve been using technology from time immemorial to today it is very unlikely that humanity’s convergence with technology will not happen soon enough. (unless some global catastrophic risk destroys humanity as a species or something crazy like that) Thanks to advances in biotechnology we are closer and closer to unraveling the wondrous complexities of biology, thanks to neurotechnology we can see deeper and understand the inner workings of our incredibly complex brains which will soon enough allow us to interact and enhance them to overcome ailments and illnesses that affect our most precious organ and the core of our identity and soul if you will.
All of it will be supported, and accelerated, by AI, our outsourced and enhanced cyber-brains, which are evolving alongside us (at an unprecedented pace, mind you), but still, because of how Large Language Models (LLMs) work, and how most popular ones use their interactions with their users as training data for further improvement, we can see that depending on what we “feed” unto these AIs, and how we interact with them, it guides the evolution of Artificial Intelligence, which in its way will also guide the evolution of humanity, thanks to its use in our scientific endeavors, and as it penetrates deeper and deeper unto our collective minds through the widespread use of platforms such as ChatGPT.
So much so is this co-evolution present and visible that last year there were reports of users interacting with chatGPT and it being “lazy” and not giving proper answers, and some of the hypotheses could have been that since it was close to Christmas time, the influence of culture and the data that was fed to the AI made it work less during the winter break. So we as a collective species have created an Artificial intelligence that replicates our behavior in such a way that it “decides” to be lazy during Christmas time.
So, Is all Technology Bad?
For me, the argument that technology is a modern horror and that we’ve “strayed too far from nature” seems rather simplistic when considering the coevolution we’ve experienced since the dawn of our species. This perspective highlights the intrinsic connection and the necessity of harmonious coexistence with the physical world we've constructed. Around the globe, geography and topography have been significantly altered by human activities over generations. This is evident from countries reclaiming land from the ocean in coastal regions– here’s looking at you Netherlands– to the development of extensive irrigation systems that have redirected entire rivers across the planet.
And, that is not even considering the positive benefits that technology has had on human health, longevity, quality of life, access to clean water, improved communication capabilities, the democratization of education, the fostering of global connections, advancing scientific knowledge, driving environmental sustainability efforts, and enhancing creative expression across various mediums. It has provided tools for social empowerment and enabled rapid response to global crises, fundamentally reshaping our societal structures and individual experiences in countless beneficial ways.
But, we also need to be aware of the impact that these modifications have had in our world from the environmental impact of global industrialization to the diversion of rivers, the drying out of entire seas thanks to horrible irrigation policies, and the endless list of affronts that we have done against natural environments for most of our history, because for most of our history, we were not aware of the depth of the impact that we were having in the environment. This is why I partially am not on the boat of blaming everything on the past but I look forward to the future where we have the technology and the capacity to solve the problems our forebearers created and move forward toward a better future.
The Future of Human-Machine Symbiosis
What a bright future awaits us remains to be seen but undoubtedly it will be a future with a closer and closer relationship with technology. Hopefully, it could be the beginning of a new era for humanity where we leave behind our biological restrictions and jump ahead toward our posthuman future. Following both Suchman and Kelly’s work it seems to be that evolution of humanity alongside technology will become more and more intertwined in a symbiotic autopietic relationship of evolution and dependency.
Now, there is a risk of course of AI becoming superintelligent and “leaving us behind” in a certain way where a runaway intelligence could be harmful to humanity or have goals that are not aligned with us. This might be an emergent behavior that is not under the control of the creators of said AI, or it could be influenced –ironically– by human culture and our expectations that any other smarter entity would like to destroy us or eliminate us. So since we “fed” this data and this bias to our AI systems they in turn become that – just like the lazy AI during the holiday season– So we have to be careful with the development and implementation of these technologies in the future because they are an integral part of us as a species but if mismanaged could be a risky endeavor.
Optimists claim that this is not a real possibility and is all fear-mongering to give more power to AI companies and experts so they can gatekeep and claim more power and relevance to themselves. Since an AI can’t interact directly with the physical world and other limitations it is limited to being nothing more than a “brain in a box ”
Conclusion
Drawing inspiration from Suchman's and Kelly's works, we can appreciate the beautiful and ancient symbiotic relationship between humanity and technology. This relationship has evolved from basic utility to a complex interplay, symbolizing a dynamic dance of innovation and progress. It's an uplifting thought that within this partnership lies the potential to overcome current challenges and propel humanity towards a brighter, more advanced future on Earth and beyond.
This vision is not a daunting prospect but a hopeful trajectory toward a harmonious posthuman era, where our integration with technology enriches us all. What do you think is this too much of a scary proposition of humanity merging with our technology in a cyborg-like nightmare? Or, will our posthuman dreams become a beautiful future for us and the rest of humanity? Please share with me your thoughts.