Abstract
Stephen Hawking suggests that a living system has the two parts: “a set of instructions that tell the system how to sustain and reproduce itself, and a mechanism to carry out the instructions” (genes and metabolism). On this definition, computer viruses count as living systems as do artificial intelligences. Hawking explains that human evolution has speeded up. While “there has been no detectable change in human DNA”, “the amount of knowledge handed on from generation to generation has grown enormously” (maybe a hundred thousand times as much as in DNA). This signals that we have entered a new stage of evolution—from natural selection based on the Darwinian model of internal transmission to cultural or self-designed evolution based on an accelerated external transmission of information. This paper presents a thought experiment about philosophical and educational consequences of the possible arrival of: (1) Hawking-inspired postdigital human beings created through self-designed evolution quicker than non-tampered (natural) evolution of human intelligence and (2) algorithmic non-carbon-based “living” systems. In our postdigital age, we are slowly but surely taking natural selection into our own hands, and we need to grapple with the pertinent responsibility.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
For the purpose of the argument, we put all these philosophers under the wide umbrella of “the most important influencers”. However, Peters is very aware of differences and discrepancies between their philosophies; he questions whether “it is correct to construe Marcuse, Foucault, and Dreyfus as Heidggerian” (Peters 2006: 112), and contrasts the Heideggerian programme with Haraway’s and Feenberg’s.
References
Asimov, I. (1950). The robot series. New York City: Doubleday.
Barron, C. (2003). A strong distinction between humans and non-humans is no longer required for research purposes: A debate between Bruno Latour and Steve Fuller. History of the Human Sciences, 16(2), 77–99.
Cronenberg, D. (1986). The fly [Motion picture]. Los Angeles: Brooksfilms and SLM Production Group.
Deary, I. J. (2013). Intelligence. Current Biology, 23(16), 673–676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.07.021.
Dietz, T., Burns, T. R., & Buttel, F. H. (1990). Evolutionary theory in sociology: An examination of current thinking. Sociological Forum, 5(2), 155–171. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01112590.
Feenberg, A. (2002). Transforming technology: A critical theory revisited. New York: Oxford University Press.
Floridi, L. (Ed.). (2015). The onlife manifesto: Being human in a hyperconnected era. Springer Science+Business Media.
Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Harmondsworth: Penguin Education Specials.
Fuller, S. & Jandrić, P. (2019). The postdigital human: Making the history of the future. Postdigital Science and Education, 1(1), 190–217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-018-0003-x.
Hawking, S. (1996). Life in the universe. http://www.hawking.org.uk/life-in-the-universe.html. Accessed October 1, 2018.
Hester, H. (2018). Xenofeminism. London: Polity.
Hines, S. (2007). Transforming gender: Transgender practices of identity, intimacy and care. Bristol: Policy.
Jandrić, P. (2017). Learning in the age of digital reason. Rotterdam: Sense.
Jandrić, P., & Hayes. S. (2019). The postdigital challenge of redefining education from the margins. Learning, Media and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2019.1585874.
Jandrić, P., Knox, J., Besley, T., Ryberg, T., Suoranta, J., & Hayes, S. (2018). Postdigital Science and Education. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 50(10), 893–899. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2018.1454000.
Jones, C. (2018). Experience and networked learning. In N. Bonderup Dohn, S. Cranmer, J. A. Sime, M. de Laat, & T. Ryberg (Eds.), Networked learning: Reflections and challenges (pp. 39–56). Springer International.
Jones, C., Ryberg, T., & de Laat, M. (2015). Networked Learning. In M. A. Peters (Ed.), Encyclopedia of educational philosophy and theory. Springer International.
Knox, J. (2016). Posthumanism and the MOOC: Contaminating the subject of global education. Abingdon: Routledge.
Onlife Initiative. (2015). The onlife manifesto. In L. Floridi (Ed.), The onlife manifesto: Being human in a hyperconnected era (pp. 7–13). Springer Science+Business Media.
Peters, M. A. (2006). Towards a philosophy of technology in education: mapping the field. In J. Weiss, J. Nolan, J. Hunsinger, & P. Trifonas, (2006). The international handbook of virtual learning environments (Vol. I, pp. 95–116). Dordrecht: Springer.
Peters, M. A. (2012). Bio-informational capitalism. Thesis Eleven, 110(1), 98–111. https://doi.org/10.1177/0725513612444562.
Peters, M. A. & Besley, T. (2019). Critical philosophy of the postdigital. Postdigital Science and Education, 1(1), 29–42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-018-0004-9.
Peters, M. A. & Jandrić, P. (2019). Posthumanism, open ontologies and bio-digital becoming. Educational Philosophy and Theory. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2018.1551835.
Plomin, R. (2018). Blueprint: How DNA makes us who we are. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Préciado, P. B. (2013). Testo Junkie: Sex, drugs, and biopolitics in the pharmacopornographic era. London: Routledge.
Scott, R. (1982). Blade Runner [Motion picture]. Los Angeles: The Ladd Company, Shaw Brothers, Blade Runner Partnership.
Shiels, P. G., Kind, A. J., Campbell, K. H. S., Wilmut, I., Waddington, D., Colman, A., & Schnieke, A. E. (1999). Analysis of telomere length in Dolly, a sheep derived by nuclear transfer. Cloning, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.1089/15204559950020003.
Singer, B. (2000). X-men. [Motion picture]. Los Angeles: 20th Century Fox, Marvel Entertainment, and The Donners’ Company.
UNESCO. (1998). Teachers and teaching in a changing world. Paris: UNESCO.
University of Edinburgh. (2018). The Centre for Research in Digital Education. https://www.de.ed.ac.uk/. Accessed October 1, 2018.
Ursúa, N. (1996). The biologization of our culture: The challenge of new technologies. In G. Munevar (Ed.), Spanish studies in the philosophy of science (pp. 227–242). Boston: Kluwer.
U.S. National Library of Medicine. (2015). Is intelligence determined by genetics? https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/traits/intelligence. Accessed October 1, 2018.
U.S. National Library of Medicine. (2018a). What is gene therapy? https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/therapy/genetherapy. Accessed October 1, 2018.
U.S. National Library of Medicine. (2018b). What are the ethical issues surrounding gene therapy? https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/therapy/ethics. Accessed October 1, 2018.
Williamson, B. (2016). Digital methodologies of education governance. Pearson plc and the remediation of methods. European Educational Research Journal, 15(1), 34–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474904115612485.
Williamson, B. (2019). Brain data: Scanning, scraping and sculpting the plastic learning brain through neurotechnology. Postdigital Science and Education, 1(1), 65–86. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-018-0008-5.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Peters, M.A., Jandrić, P. (2019). Artificial Intelligence, Human Evolution, and the Speed of Learning. In: Knox, J., Wang, Y., Gallagher, M. (eds) Artificial Intelligence and Inclusive Education. Perspectives on Rethinking and Reforming Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8161-4_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8161-4_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-8160-7
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-8161-4
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)