JUNGIAN WORLD THEORY – 21077

An interesting motivation for artificial intelligence (AI) research is called Jungian world theory. According to this hypothesis, human beings keep making the same mistakes in every generation. It seems that people cannot learn from history. Humanity, as a collective unit, seems unable to foretell, or care about, the potential consequences of the things they do. It is as if the human race is time-blind. Thus,“History repeats.”

This theory has been demonstrated many times. People keep fighting wars for the same reasons.Wars rarely solve problems, although in some cases it seems as if there is no other choice than to go to war. Human activities become ever more destructive to Earth’s ecosystem. The most pessimistic interpretations of Jungian world theory suggest that humanity is doomed to self-extinction.

What can humanity do to stop this self-defeating vicious circle? According to researcher Charles Lecht, one answer may lie in the development of AI to the point that machines attain greater intelligence than people. Perhaps a brilliant computer or system of machines can help humanity to control its destiny, so that people need not keep reliving the same old calamities.

Many researchers doubt that machines will, or can, become smarter than people, but it has been argued that AI can and should be used to help humanity find solutions to difficult social problems.