The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle believed that human activities are structured in a hierarchy. This was the idea that those with higher intelligence dominate those with lower intelligence. According to this idea, AI, surpassing human capabilities, would become the master and rule over humans. (Kei Kitajima)

As the title suggests, the main theme of this series is AI. However, while it is about AI, I do not intend to focus on AI technology or AI services. Rather, I will focus on human value. It is self-evident that AI technology will advance and AI services will be created explosively; no one can stop the spread of AI. And AI will become increasingly intelligent, surpassing human capabilities.

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle believed that all human activities are structured in a hierarchy. In short, those with higher intellectual abilities dominate those with lower abilities. He argued that this relationship is rational and mutually beneficial. They called those with high intellectual abilities “masters” at the top of the hierarchy, and those at the bottom “slaves.”
This ideology, though softened and sugarcoated, still subtly persists today. According to this ideology, AI, surpassing human capabilities, would rule over humans as masters. Certainly, this might seem more rational. However, very few people would accept this worldview.
If that’s the case, we must re-examine the value of humanity. We must find areas where humans are intellectually superior to AI and make that ability a cornerstone of our value. Otherwise, the relationship of humans ruling over AI as masters cannot exist.
Incidentally, Aristotle’s thought remains relevant today, but it constantly attracts both praise and criticism. For example, the German Enlightenment philosopher Kant thoroughly rejected Aristotle’s ideas. He opposed slavery, arguing that all humans are intellectually equal from birth and that there can be no such thing as a born slave. He championed democracy as a system for intellectually equal individuals.
The German philosopher Nietzsche criticized Kant’s ideas. As Aristotle argued, Nietzsche emphasized the undeniable difference between what humans can and cannot do. However, Nietzsche despised high intellectual ability and the effort to use it to dominate others, instead advocating the use of intellectual ability not for the purpose of controlling others, but as a superhuman power to accept the status quo. This is what is known as the Übermensch (Overman) philosophy.

Nietzsche created a new value system called the Übermensch, and I believe that the concept of the Übermensch can be a useful reference when considering the value of humanity in the age of AI.

So, what is an Übermensch? From here on, the language becomes more obscure and difficult to understand, but it seems that the ideal Übermensch is someone who breaks away from conventional wisdom and unleashes their inner power. A person who creates new values ​​and lives true to their desires could also be called an Übermensch.

What kind of person can be imagined specifically? The image will vary from person to person, but for me, Silicon Valley techno-libertarians such as Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and OpenAI, come to mind. They appear to me as individuals who, by utilizing cutting-edge technologies such as AI, are breaking down conventional wisdom, creating new values, and living true to their own desires.
Regardless of whether they desire a world where AI rules over humanity as its master, it is ironic that the more they act with superhuman, self-established will, the more AI advances and the more the value of humanity becomes precarious.
Leaving that aside, Nietzsche, famous for his Übermensch (superman) philosophy, left us with another famous keyword: nihilism. He called the state in which what was previously considered the highest value and the ultimate goal becomes worthless.
Like Aristotle’s philosophy, this nihilism is still relevant today. Or rather, nihilism has deepened in the modern era, and it could even be said that we live in an age where value has been lost.
It is a tragedy that value itself is lost when we are trying to consider the value of being human. In the age of AI, what kind of thinking will humans who have lost their value adopt, and what kind of lives will they lead? Will they simply accept that AI will reign as their master?

※Translating Japanese articles into English with AI