How I got a reach to the book "Between Human and the Machine"
Firstly I found the photo of an android which is taken in Tokyo. It was an experience defining the common sense because I felt a soul/spirit of the Android through a photograph. I knew that specific android names Alter series and one of them is coming to London in the Barbican center. I went to the exhibition and I met an android above which was "Alter 3". I read the introduction of the android, and I knew the Alter series is the co-development of two professors Takashi Ikegami and Akira Kuronuma. I attempted to contact one of the main engineers Takashi Ikegami because his account about Alter was quite clear and engaging. He explained Alter is not an Artificial Intelligence, but an Artificial Life which being into the human figured body, the definition of ALife is three that Autonomy, Interactivity, and presence. Particularly I found an interest in the idea of presence since sounded like similar to my subject on painting. I asked Ikegami directly that what is the best way to deepen understanding of your work and the definition of "presence"?
He recommended me to his book "人間と機械の間 心はどこのにあるのか” I will record what the book brought me.
人間と機械のあいだ 心はどこにあるのか
Between Human and the Machine Where is the Mind
人間と機械のあいだ "Between human and the machine" is a book written by two Japanese engineers Takashi Ikegami and Hiroshi Ishiguro who created Alter with co-development.
This book constructed by three parts that account of Hiroshi Ishiguro, interview, and account by Takashi Ikegami. In Ishiguro part, he mainly argues the relationship between human, android, and society. In the interview part, they talk about how developed Alter series and the purpose, future development and the topic all around ALife and AI because Hiroshi Ishiguro and Takashi Ikegami are each an expert of AI and ALife. In the Takashi Ikegami part, he explains the detailed principle of ALife and previous his work while demonstrating about his installation work and inspiration from art.
As my personal impression, Hiroshi Ishiguro is a typical engineer/scientist believing science and the bright future by developed technology. Takashi Ikegami is a physicist or mathematician but simultaneously having an artistic and philosophical aspect. I have seen super realistic AI made by Hiroshi Ishiguro before, but it seemed like an artificial robot, I didn't feel any special emotion. I thought the additional mysterious presence and living expression in Alter series have been brought by colloboration with Takashi Ikegami.
This book is very sensational and high quality through all contents, there is no waste. Especially I was quite interested in the relationship between society, android, and human being in the future they predict, the argument of whether an android has a conscious or not, and the principle of Alife and the connection with art.
the relationship between society, android, and human being
now and in the future they predict
Let's forget the conservative idea like a flesh life having DNA is only a "life". Conscious is just an electrical signal pattern of the brain. Let's think about the bigger frame of life idea includes life in the real. There must be some incredible machine which is like conscious possesses on it. (Ikegami, T pp249)
The history of technology is the history of replacement of human function to the machine. And then, people have been thinking of "what is the human being" throughout the process. (Kuronuma, H pp25)
When some innovative technology invented, we have been trying to replace us by based on technology always. (Kuronuma, H pp25)
When we completed replacing our body to the machine, is there any core of human being reminds at the last? (Kuronuma, H pp25)
When we assumed the computer is a replacement of our brain by technology, the android is the function to replace human behavior, looks, and social communication/interaction with others. In other words, Android is the replacement of a human function to have a social relationship. (Kuronuma, H pp27)
Additionally, Kuronuma explains, there is no formal examination to test the possibility of android be treated as a human being now. Our society still has only a way to distinguish human and machine of 50 years ago which called the Turing test. About the situation, both Kuronuma and Ikegami point out the delay of human creativity to science technology. Kuronuma gives a really good example that in spite of what happens now is predicted by SF works 30 years ago almost everything, nowadays science is much more developing than our prediction. 30 years ago, the idea was going beyond technology. They say that normally, it becomes easy to accept the unknown things which haven't been accepted before by improving idea first.
Ikegami quotes the words of Luigi Nono" Among shifting technology, we create new emotion, technology, and language which has never existed before." It means such new ideas make understand the new concept/objects. However, do we have a new language now? Are we attempting to create it? He asked us.
My friend said to me, the new technology, especially humanoid is scary because it will take over the human identity. Some say that human creation and prediction became weaker than 30 years, that is because we are having a fear to predict the future developed technology will bring. We consciously don't want to accept it.