By Rezwana Tabassum Eva

“Dubito, ergo cogito, ergo sum”

 Also known as 

“I doubt, I think, therefore I am.”

is a famous interpretation by Antonio Le`onard Thomas of the first principle of philosophy of the French philosopher René Descartes. This quote insists on the fact that humans must doubt and thus think and thus establish their existence in this universe. One of the most important attributes that differentiates us — humans from other living beings is our ability to think critically and regulate & express complex emotions.  Humans possessing the capacity to rationally and critically approach the subjects of the world is the reason why philosophy, literature, and revolutions, etc exist.

However, the recent dominance that AI has shown and is currently still showing has somehow made us think that we can just transfer the responsibility of pondering and meditating to technological beings. What a grotesque concept! How absurd it is to not think at all! This is what we are here for. We are existing, acquiring knowledge, and spreading the benefits of knowledge to the entire humanity because it is our responsibility. AI has the ability to limit our mentality and emotions. We must think, we must doubt – we must doubt the concept of life, we must doubt the rules and regulations, and we must revolt if needed; and for all of this to happen, we must use our creativity, our emotions, and our analytical thinking. Moreover, AI wipes away individualism, which is very important for society to function, for humanity to evolve. If there is no individuality,  the society becomes soulless and anguished. Humans have always been curious creatures; this curiosity, this hunger of enlightenment has led to inventions, revolutions and creations. AI is easy to use – of course! But where are the territories in which  AI cannot enter? The answer is- none. There are only a few sectors of life in which AI has not made its presence yet, and it is without a doubt a matter of concern for all of us.

Moreover, when we use AI or generative AI, we must think about the class of the society that is benefiting from its usage; and most of the time the path always leads to the elite class or the billionaires. There have been recent reports saying that many AI data centers are now destroying human-written books to train AI models. This process requires the books to be dismantled by cutting off their spine for each page to be scanned and then later being discarded and wasted. This will soon create a lack of original human-written pieces of literature and writings in the entire world. So we must always question how ethical the usage of AI is. 

Artificial Intelligence is not supposed to replace us but rather assist us. Because if the former happens and we stop doubting and thus stop thinking and consequently stop emotionally existing, what a true misfortune would it be for the upcoming generation! What an agony it would be to survive!