Intelligence Vs Consciousness

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 7 April 2025 This refers to, “AI Can Detonate Itself: Yuval Noah Harari Issues a Stark Warning About AI's Growing Autonomy." At the moment, AI has intelligence but doesn't have consciousness. Even if it has some degree of consciousness, it's in the nascent stage. The moment AI's consciousness will be on an even keel with its intelligence, it might prove to be a Frankenstein to human civilization. Now the question is: What's more valuable - intelligence or consciousness? One must consider both qualities in the context of our world. Intelligence can be defined as the ability to acquire and apply knowledge, while consciousness is defined as a state of being aware of one's existence and environment. While intelligence is certainly an important asset for one to possess, it's not necessarily essential for one's happiness or wellbeing. In contrast, consciousness can be argued to be a more valuable asset as it allows an individual to be aware of the world around them and to live a more meaningful and fulfilling life. Inevitably, each individual will come to their own conclusion as to which quality is more valuable. Intelligence is the ability to solve problems, and consciousness is the ability to feel things and have subjective experiences. Intelligence is the ability to solve problems using knowledge and logic. It underlies our capacity to think, remember and learn. Consciousness, on the other hand, enables us to feel things and have unique experiences that cannot be reduced to purely objective facts. It includes sensations, emotions and memories, as well as our ability to be aware of ourselves and the world around us. Together, intelligence and consciousness form the unique and powerful Mind. Coming back to Harari's apprehension that AI can detonate itself, well, if we endow AI with consciousness or let consciousness develop on its own, AI will eventually emerge as a potential rival to humans. But consciousness (Chetna, Anubhooti or Ehsaas) is an evolutionary process. It's far deeper and much more nuanced than intelligence. Millions of years are required for the evolution of consciousness. We all will have gone by that time. AI will need free will and volition to detonate itself because the free wall is integral to (human) consciousness. This doesn't appear to happen anytime soon. Yet, we must take all pre-emptive measures so that AI shouldn't become our master. Remember, techno-humanism aims to amplify the power of humans, creating cyborgs and connecting humans to computers, but it still sees human interests and desires as the highest authority in the universe. Don't allow machines and gadgets to take over humans. ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URl: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/intelligence-consciousness/d/135074 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism