FootprintsintheWind.com

How many humanicities and how many futures? Verbs?

:- Doug.

Footprints in the Wind^sm # 1887

The immigrants you hate
owned the land before
your grandparents invaded

Please pass it on.

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So just what is human?

We might not know till later, centuries from now. Or we might be in a position to design humanicity ourselves. Or at least ask the question of ourselves and the generations.

That too is a service elders can offer.

Not all of us. Not to all elders. To those who hear.

:- Doug.

The daily things that make life easier decide for us. Defaults take over. Rebels in our fantasies, but when did we act?

So if we let the little intelligent things we create take over our “little choices” (sounds less important than “decisions”), if they make decisions better than us, if these beasties do a better job than what we used to do, if we become superfluous, then why do we need intelligence ourselves?

So maybe we are the peak. Maybe to be stupid would not be so bad—we would not get bored so easily. We would want fewer emotions so we would do nothing and feel OK about ourselves. Not good, but not guilty.

:- Doug.

In truth we might decide to downgrade humanity. The decision would be taken in myriad small non-decisions by large numbers of people. Let the system, the algorithm, the smart application choose. It chooses well enough. There are other things I’d rather do, and things pressing. We may indeed be the pinnacle. Thinking is already too much work. If then humans are useless?

:- Doug.

Maybe a major service of elders is to record that desires and experiences were once important.

:- Doug.