Life has richly blessed me. I get to walk in the arroyo near my home and listen to the wind tell stories of life that I feel more than hear. This wind grabs my attention and points it towards a flower or a rock and says, “this vibrates, has vibrated, and will vibrate long after you’re here.” That message resonates inside of me and I’ll grab my camera and shoot the subject of the message. I hope to capture the vibrations and the energy exuding into the wind such that I remember the tale after the wind is gone. AI cannot hear those tales. Nor can it feel their message.
AI can “see” and “hear.” But it can never sense the infinite nor can it attach to it. AI may be able to generate images with shocking accuracy. But it can never capture the intention behind the object. Every plant and every flower that I encounter serves a purpose. Even delivered flowers have meaning beyond their beauty. There is comfort or happiness or just plain existence that teaches and guides. This existence teaches humanity that we are all part of the vibrations that flow through this and all planets. AI has no way to access that teaching. AI can never surrender its own existence to the death and the re-joining to the infinite dying provides.
These days, there’s a ton of talk regarding AI and whether it become conscious. The fact is that in watching flowers dance in the wind, I know the dance will end. In seeing vibrant colors cheer a room, I know those colors will fade. But it is the temporary nature of all of life that gifts me with hope and attaches me to all that is good and strong and beautiful.
So, whenever I watch the early morning light wash over the trees in my neighborhood, I absorb the deep green and think of Frost. The gold that starts each day is real and, while brief, remains a part of me throughout the day. I know, without a doubt, that AI can never even begin to feel that gold. To me, there is no argument. AI can never gain consciousness. It has no soul.
