“It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the most adaptable to change
-Charles Darwin
Ahh, here you are. Inside my brain. Where I shall vulnerably, with a sprinkle of humour and
candour, share some thoughtful, perhaps even provoking, introspection into my bizarre thoughts.
Based on what some would judge as limited fact, but full of honesty, curiosity and contemplation.
Here I share with you… What is all of this we are facing?
Eternity. Vastness. Infiniteness…
These are a few thoughts that trickle into my brain when contemplating the age-old - and my word, is it burning question:
Life: what is it? And where does this ‘life’ lead us?
Is it perhaps a gift we have been given?
An accident?
A concept we have created to make sense of all this we see before our eyes?
So many complications, intricacies, so much complexity…
Our space and surroundings are vast, and opportunities that come from this can feel eternal, endless.
But the notion of eternity, vastness and endless opportunity can also feel like the catalyst for our lostness…
How do I navigate into the abyss when I don’t understand what I’m stepping into?
Do you know how long it lasts?
And if I don’t know where it starts, confused as to where it ends, then I fear it may signify one of my greatest worries… I don’t actually know where I am.
Why am I here? Born from an abyss, followed by perpetual confusion, hoping to understand, surviving to fight the confusion in order to reach the final stage.Hello darkness, infinity, abyss. We meet again.
Permanence, what a paradox… the thought of something never changing, never going away, always there, serving as a constant reminder, staring back at you.
But also offering you reassurance that a decision you make, potentially right for you at the time, perhaps still right for you now, will reward that bravery and offer you the gift of never going away.
Whether it be high or low, understood by your brain or felt in your heart, these experiences can be tattooed into our psyche. The intricacies of the aftermath they shall bring, much like a beautifully inked design, are there to stay, to remind us of a moment no longer fleeting.
Permanent.
Guinea pigs, is that what we are? Everything is changing, speeding up to a degree beyond many of our comprehensions.
Fear takes over again. Lacking a foundation can be detrimental, but familiarity is a critical component in that. Yet familiarity is no longer compatible with the way life has become.
The second familiarity sweeps in, everything changes, again and again and again…
It is no secret we are currently experiencing a rather peculiar period of history…
The evolution of technology is rapidly changing the world as we know it.
These changes have quickly primed us to become both adaptable, but also subservient, to the way life has become in recent decades.
By definition, artificial intelligence refers to technological systems able to perform the tasks a human usually would do.
And here’s where the trouble begins…
Though born in the ’50s, it feels AI has streamlined into our collective consciousness in the blink of an eye.
It has insidiously seeped into most aspects of everyday life.
Leaving many with the same feeling.
Must I embrace it in order to keep my livelihood? And will it one day be our lives?
AI has a pretty interesting way of rationalising, to say the least… It possesses its own logic, and what we may perceive as a mistake, it will try to convince us otherwise.
Slowly becoming moreefficient as the weeks, months and years go by, where could this even leave us by the next decade?
And could it trump our highest possible level of intelligence?
Redundancy, perhaps the path this will lead us down?
In order to overcome the hurdle, must one become the hurdle?
Tick tock goes the clock…
Some believe that many millennia back, we started out as a fish, and as time went by, a convergence between land and sea eventually marked a new dawn for evolution.
If correct, then perhaps that fish one day grew legs to transition from aquatic to terrestrial terrain.
Developing limbs, bones, a land-compatible air-breathing system, and then pleasantly discovering the richness of new species, flora, fauna and a new world.
Adaptation breeds survival. Perhaps, like the evolutionary tale of the fish, we will eventually grow tired of feeling lost at sea, drowning, seeking a life raft to take us to land, to safety.
And perhaps something new will be born.
I liken this analogy to how we are feeling at this moment in time.
All this new technology, information, fearing for the future.
Perhaps we will grow tired and adapt by our own volition.
Or perhaps we will be forced to.
As the fish had to adapt to its new surroundings, why wouldn’t humans have to do the same?
Our biology and anatomy are programmed to survive, and with the intervention of technology, perhaps it will soon become part of us?
It is often said that fact is stranger than fiction, and there is much evidence at our disposal to validate this potential scenario.
Terms such as biotechnology and transhumanism are often thrown around in conversation, commonly treated as distant, far-fetched, Metropolis-like caricatures of where AI will lead us.
Perhaps, like chameleons, biomimicry will be an example to follow?
This new way of operating could potentially allow a new level of control over our chemistry and being…
How will we operate?
Even stylistically, the concept of permanence may no longer be relevant when considering what choices to make, whether that be hair, clothing, or even body ornamentation.
Adapting, merging, becoming one with our rapidly evolving environment, similarly to a chameleon…
I don’t have a crystal ball in my possession.
The world is a fickle, fast-evolving and unpredictable landmine.
Perhaps the abyss may not be the end, but the unknown…
By Yasmin Aria Braganza, 2024