NOWADAYS there is much talk about artificial intelligence. It is feared that most people will lose their jobs, and that intelligent robots will take over the world, with a few hundred humans kept in cages for members of some future super intelligent species to look at, just as we look at animals in the zoo.

While it is obvious that we should be concerned about the misuse of artificial intelligence, I wonder why no attention is being paid to the fact that natural intelligence has practically disappeared. There used to be many intelligent people in society when I was in my teens in the 1960s and the trend continued in later years.

But nowadays I seldom come across people equipped with natural intelligence. Of course, there are a few still around, but the definition of intelligence seems to have changed a bit. We consider people ‘intelligent’ merely if they are able to remain silent when, say, their wives are yelling at them for forgetting their wedding anniversary.

Also among the ‘intelligent’ ones are those who know that when their wives say they do not want anything for their birthday, they actually mean anything but. Such frivolities aside, human natural intelligence seems to be losing ground to artificial intelligence.

As for today’s politicians, the less said the better. The only occasion they display natural intelligence is when they see a chance to inflate their personal or family wealth, like getting commissions while doling out lucrative contracts, minting money by hook or by crook.

Shakir Lakhani
Karachi

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2024