It has begun. Intelligence is being used to generate more intelligence in an accelerating cycle. On campus, I’ve heard many people question whether artificial intelligence developments truly mark a turning point in human history. I believe they do — and here’s why.

I’ve heard skeptics debate whether or not the artificial neural nets behind chatbots are intelligent at all. To those who doubt this is actual intelligence, please consider the historical context and technical structure of this invention.

Humanity has imagined creating artificial humans since time immemorial. It is a fantasy that even humans without electricity can imagine. However, when the computer was invented in the early 20th century, this fantasy became more plausible. For the first time, objects were doing things that resembled parts of human thought.

As the century continued, many attempts were made at automating thought in a more general way. One theory in the mid-century, originally obscure, was to create a system that resembled the structures in the human neocortex. It would be composed of artificial neurons and trained like a human mind. However, the scientists and engineers lacked the computational power to get any meaningful results from such a system. And there was skepticism that such a straightforward approach could actually produce something resembling thought. So that theory lay dormant for decades.

Now, in the 21st century, our computers are quadrillions of times more powerful than theirs. And for the first time, the artificial neural nets are operating with surprising effectiveness.

I mean, just talk to the thing; it’ll blow your mind. No, really, talk to it. Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, whatever. Dare to know. And ask yourself, if this was a student, would you consider that student intelligent? Of course you would.

They are not conscious. That is different from intelligence. They also aren’t alive. They have no emotions, although they can imitate emotions. It’s surreal to consider that intelligence can be separate from consciousness, but that seems to be the case. These things are good at everything from art to math. Interestingly, it’s taking them a longer time to get good at math, but they’re already achieving scores comparable to past gold medalists in the International Math Olympiad.

Yes, AI is dangerous, potentially poses an existential risk, can be misused by bad actors, carries the risk of job displacement and will create new challenges not yet imagined. Much ink is being spilled and large sums are being spent on AI safety. To students most concerned about AI safety and policy, I have good news for you: that’s going to be an essential aspect of human thoughtwork now and into the future. Study it. Become an expert on it. Now is the time. How do we ensure these systems align with human flourishing? What a great topic. Because they’re not going away. They’re going to become more common. Fast.

We’re only at the beginning, but these things are improving faster and faster. There seems to be no upper limit. We’re through the looking glass. The genie is out of the bottle. If the Industrial Revolution was driven by mechanical strength, this revolution will be driven by mechanical thought. The future has arrived. The question is no longer whether we’ll use AI — it’s how wisely we’ll choose to do so.

Adam MacHose is an Information Technology Services staff member at Lafayette College and a member of the Information Technology Services AI task force.