The futuristic statements of Elon Musk are receiving much attention by the media in last years.
Maybe one of his boldest, abitious and controversial statement so far is the recent one:
"Over time I think we will probably see a closer merger of biological intelligence and digital intelligence."
Musk explained what he meant by saying that computers can communicate at "a trillion bits per second", while humans, whose main communication method is typing with their fingers via a mobile device, can do about 10 bits per second:
"It’s mostly about the bandwidth, the speed of the connection between your brain and the digital version of yourself, particularly output."
In an age when AI threatens to become widespread, humans would be useless, so there’s a need to merge with machines, according to Musk.
"Some high bandwidth interface to the brain will be something that helps achieve a symbiosis between human and machine intelligence and maybe solves the control problem and the usefulness problem."
However Musk is not the only one prominent technological investor and inventor promoting this wild idea.
For example, a former DARPA Director Arati Prabhakar explores the marvels becoming possible as humans and machines work in an increasingly intertwined fashion, and explores what this fusion might mean in the future in the exclusive article for WIRED with the title: "The merging of humans and machines is happening now".
For deeper examination of this intriguing question, I recomend the philosophical and artistic masterpiece of the japanese sci-fi: Ghost in the Shell.
This 22 year old movie was much ahead of its time.
In the final scene the main character a cybor woman is questioning the concept of the self before merging with the AI and moves their existente entirely to the digital network.
Would you do it? Would you become a beautiful cyborg for the sake of the higher cognitive functions and prolonged lifespan?
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