the third thing

Photo by Rachel Claire on Pexels

the science man says
we are muscle and mind
there is no third thing
steam engines replace 
the muscle
computer replaces
the mind
most of what
a human can do
is better done by 
the things the human has made
anyway…
that’s all there is to it
so, there’s no third thing
but what about the spark?
the urge to create in the first place
how do we offload that?
there’s no way to supplant
intrinsic drive — 
the motivation to put
images with words,
combine colors and sounds together
just because it feels good
or maybe there’s nothing to it
can the will be just an illusion?
to desire without a goal
to want without a plan
to need without a thought
to do without expectation
what will happen if we try?
what will happen if we stop?
it’s an essentially human thing
to act just because
and for many of us, reason
only gets us part of the way
muscle and mind
mind and muscle
thought and action
will paint most of the picture
but the urge to paint a picture
in the first place — 
that’s the third thing
let’s not give that away

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Garbage Notes:

I saw this talk a while ago—I don’t remember who the speaker was. But this scientist was talking about how since the industrial revolution humanity has pretty much figured out how to automate most of the important aspects of human muscle and the human mind.

In factories we have machines that carry out the rote motor tasks as well as other physical actions that are too demanding for workers. With computers we’ve offloaded many of the time-consuming and tedious mental tasks too. And now with artificial intelligence, we’ve seemingly given away one of the last bastions of human output—creativity.

So then someone from the audience asks, well, what about the other thing—what about intent? What happens when these machines develop consciousness? Or what some might call a spirit or a will of their own?

The researcher just laughed it off and argued that when it comes to humans and machines, all we really needed to do was replicate the muscle and the mind. That’s it. There really isn’t anything else. There is no third thing, he said.

Sure, you can talk of spirit or will—call it whatever you want. Whether you’re a philosopher or a linguist or a neuroscientist or a priest—as humans, we’re always going to be concerned with the origin of intent.

Intentionality, meaning—why we do the things we do—it still matters to us. No matter how much evidence mounts against the nature of free will. No matter how much we dissect the neural underpinnings of consciousness.

There’s this feeling that deep down human beings have always had a desire—it’s the fire in our eye. It’s what keeps us going. It’s an impulse toward creation.

It’s why we try things just to try them. It’s why we fail and keep going when everything seems impossible. It’s why we get up in the morning and do the things we do without anyone ever having to tell us how or why or what to do.

We aren’t programmed the way machines are. Maybe some of the operations are analogous. Maybe genes can read like code. Maybe our eyes work like cameras. Maybe RAM and ROM are good reference points for the concept of memory. Maybe Alexa seems like she understands language. But still, that’s all it is. A display. A show.

We’ve yet to replicate a true urge toward originality. We’ve yet to recreate the drive toward the irrational. There are no starving artist algorithms. There’s no program that would sooner terminate itself than live in a world without being able to express itself through art and story. But that’s what we do as humans.

This is why we should always support human expression first. No matter how tragic or flawed or chaotic it might be. Applaud your fellow writers and poets and painters and musicians for putting their lives and their reputations on the line every day with each spirited breath.

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Franco Amati 2023