If we want to represent superintelligence in fiction, is there any good way to do it? I know that many have tried, but so far I haven’t encountered a result that felt completely satisfactory to me.
One of my favorite attempts was Frank Herbert’s representation of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood in the Dune trilogy. I was especially struck by their ability to hold entire conversations amongst themselves, while they are simultaneously speaking with unenhanced humans, without the latter even suspecting the existence of this higher level of conversation.
There is something about such a double consciousness that strikes me as very human, even though it is far beyond the powers of actual humans. I think it is this quality that I am looking for: Some quality of mind that is far beyond the capability of actual people, but that nonetheless resonates with readers/viewers as something distinctly human.
Does anyone out there have other examples of superhuman intelligence in fiction that manage to convey this dual quality?
I’ve heard performers talk about memorizing their lines so well, they can actually think about other things while they’re reciting them.
This seemed odd until I experienced it. I was working a trade show both and giving the same pitch over and over as people stopped by to ask about the product. Sure enough, by the second day my brain was making arrangements for lunch in the midst of giving the pitch to the person standing in front of me.
I have also had the same experience as described by J. Peterson, except in my case it happens when reading stories to my kids.
What I find really weird about it is that I am dyslexic, so reading normally takes a significant effort for me and reading out loud even more so. But after reading the same book many times, I am able to read out and let my mind wander without issue.
I think such phenomena can be grouped under the category of “expert knowledge”. I recall learning that our brain processes tasks that we do all the time in an entirely different way than how it processes tasks requiring conscious attention.
For example, I can easily play a piano piece that I know well while holding a conversation. It feels as though my hands are playing by themselves, but it’s really just the fact that this task has become expert knowledge.
This all makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. We can walk, eat, prepare a pot of coffee and perform other common repetitive tasks — even highly intricate tasks — without conscious thought. Otherwise it would be very difficult to get through the day!
Have you watched Person Of Interest ?
It has a really good concept of AI, I dont really want to spoil anything if you have not watched it but I think it has the dual requirements you were talking about.
I very much enjoyed Person of Interest. I pretty much binged it. I agree that it meets the first requirement, but at least for me, not quite the second. While I found the computer to be completely fascinating, it was too far removed from a human intelligence for me to be able to connect with it on a human level. I can certainly see how others might have a different view.