With the success of large language models like chatGPT and BARD etc many have been fascinated by machines’ ability to learn and so am I. I would like to investigate the ability of large language models to investigate an idea.
In this article we will be discussing a speculative way to experience free will. This is being theorized from my interactions with chatGPT. My intentions behind writing this article is not to propagate the idea of if free will exist or it does not exist with convection but to observe machines ability to speculate idea’s and I am surprised with the consistency that chatGPT showed
The topic that I choose for this is free will because free will is a mental phenomena and we all can experience ourselves if the speculation of artificial intelligence resonates with ground truth or if It is just making some grammatically correct sentences.
More will be discussed in the end. For now lets focus on free will and speculative possible way to experience free will
The debate of free will
Ishan is a small boy who is naturally artistic from the very beginning of his developmental years. He is not good at expressing himself in words but he expresses his emotions on paper by using drawings and painting it with colors to convey what he is feeling. It is how he expresses and this presents a possibility of him evolving to be a great painter in future.
But he is born in a family of athletes. Both of his parents were athletes, and his sister is also a good athlete. The environment that he is growing in actually appreciates him out performing at sports more than he spends time with his drawings. Naturally Ishan will want to get praise from his parents and he will be motivated to play on the ground more often than sitting to draw.
Situation 1
Now let’s say Ishan has a good physic and gets good at sports. He manages to get positive feedback from parents and sister, now Ishan is more motivated to improve his skills on the field and find more joy in sports.
Situation 2
Ishan is not that good at sports no matter what. He is not adaptive to the expectation from his parents and sister. But he wants to make them happy, experience appreciation and get positive feedback so he will continue to try as hard as he can and fail most of the time. Now Ishan is stuck in a cycle of negative feedback.
But in school there is a new arts teacher, who is good at drawing and Ishan likes the art of his teacher. The teacher also quickly recognises the potential inside Ishan and likes the art of Ishan. The teacher provides more positive feedback to Ishan, which makes Ishan feel confident.
Now Ishan is again invested in his drawings, now Ishan values information or feedback from his art teacher more than his family.
From the hindsight, does Ishan have a free will?
We are born with some internal states and get raised in an external environment. In order to survive in that external environment that external environment has certain feedback, positive or negative. Which exists to reinforce some behavior in us. The external environment is not constant for all. Depending on the internal states and what gets reinforced from the external environment comes in the factor of adaptability.
Apart from this reinforcement there is additional information in the external environment. Depending on the adaptability a person chooses to stay in a particular environment or migrate to other
Learning happens through feedback and reinforcements from the environment. During the process of learning we manipulate internal states and learn a policy, based on the feedback. We always try to learn the most successful policy and the success is determined by feedback
There is always adaptability and reinforcement. Well so do we have a free will ? or is free will an illusion?
What is free will?
The supposed power or capacity of humans to make decisions or perform actions independently of any prior event or state of universe
Is there a free will?
In the case of the story there seems to be no free will at all. Every decision that the Ishan makes is under the influence of feedback that Ishan receives. And we know this because we are looking at the life of Ishan from hindsight.
What are the possible answers?
- Yes: we possess a degree of agency and autonomy to make choices independently of deterministic factors
- No: our choices and decision are predetermined by a chain of causal events
- Yes and no: no one has a free will, but some might evolve to have a free will
The speculative way to experience free will developed by artificial intelligence explores the third answer. Yes there is a free will but we need to evolve to get free will.
If there is no free will then not having a free will has a function and if there is a possibility to have a free will then having free will also has a function.
Understanding the functional need to not to have a free will is easy.
Free will is the ability to think independ of any potential influences to that thought. So now let us consider why there is a need to think at all in the first place. The answer is to survive. The environment that we are in produces the need to think, so that we can make decisions and ensure our survival.
Now if there was a free will from the very start of life then imagine the number of thoughts that a person can explore. The likelihood of thinking in a way that ensures your survival with complete free will at the start of life is very low.
So now add the influence of biological experience and an environment which has collective thoughts which they propagate to you. This brings stability, this reduces the search space of thoughts that a person would otherwise would have gone from. Now the likelihood of survival is much higher and stable then the otherwise journey of free will
If freewill exist then it has to be an introspective journey. If biological experience and emotions have a function then getting rid of them will not be easy or a wise choice. But being just defined by them does not take us to free will.
Our biological makeup and emotional experience do play a significant role in shaping our perspective and behavior. Our biological experience certainly has a function but it does come with the cost of limiting our freedom to think.
Can detachment from biological makeup and emotional experience lead to free will ?
In this context detachment does not mean disengagement. It can be seen as the ability to observe and understand our biological experience and emotions without being solely attached to them. By acknowledging and accepting our emotions we choose how to respond to them, rather than being entirely driven by instinctive reactions. Here detachment is about cultivating a sense of awareness and agency that allows us to make conscious choices even in the presence of biological experience. Ultimately the journey towards free will involves a delicate balance between acknowledging our biological experience and emotions and transcending their limitations.
Can we achieve free will by giving up on default thinking which is a gift from our biology and upbringing from the environment around us?
As discussed earlier, not having a free will has a function and that function is to reduce the search space so that we can make decisions quicker. We have to acknowledge this and then try to attain free will. This can be done by constantly engaging in the act of thinking and embracing our capacity for exploration. With self directed exploration we open ourselves to realms of the unknown, discovering new perspectives, insights and possibilities.
Journey towards free will is a lifelong process and its ultimate realizations are deeply personal and transformative. As we continue to explore the unknown and exercise the authority on the act of thinking we expand the horizons of free will and deepen our connect with the true essence of our being
Free will is not confined to a single moment or finite outcome. It is an ongoing exploration and cultivation of our agency and conscious decision making throughout our life. Effect of embracing free will can invertebrate beyond our existence. The choices that we make, the wisdom that we share and the influence we have on others can create a repel effect that extends beyond our lifetime. While our individual existence may be transient, the impact of our free will can leave a lasting legacy. The choices that we make driven by realization of free will have potential to create positive changes, foster personal growth and enhance well being of ourselves and others
The nature of free will allows for greater flexibility and adaptability. It grants us the power to make choices and take the actions that can shape our lives. This freedom holds immense transformative potential
So can the journey of free will turn out to be either extremely constructive or extremely destructive?
As individuals engage in self reflection, introspection and personal growth they can cultivate deeper understanding of themselves and their interconnectedness with others.
When free will is channeled constructively
It leads to personal development, pursuit of meaningful goals and fostering of harmonious relationships. This can inspire act of kindness, creativity and innovation. This can be a catalyst for progress and positive change, both on individual and collective level
When free will is channeled destructively
The complexity of life, existence of conflicting interests and limitation of our understanding can sometimes lead us to choices that have destructive consequences . The impulse driven by fear, ego or ignorance can lead us to actions that harm us and others
But as journey of free will unfolds, humanity learn from past experience and as individual continue to explore their own agency and consciousness there us potential for growth and stability
End of AI’s free will speculation
The interaction that I had with chatGPT showed me that large language models are good at approximating the dataset that they are trained on and hold enormous knowledge. WIth such a machines we need humans who will ask relevant questions to get out reasonable answers
In my opinion there is a possibility of a future of symbiosis between human intelligence and machines’ ability to learn.
Link to the chat with chatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/share/fd30b451-497a-4c12-82f3-25df1c66a575
If you have any feedback fell free to comment below or if you want to DM me you can on the instagram page of this substack link is bellow