“The consciousness of each of us is evolution looking at itself and reflecting upon itself” (Teilhard, 221).
This quote (as well as the paragraph above it in The Phenomenon of Man) reminded me of an article I came
across over a year ago entitled: Top
10 Possible Next Steps in Human Evolution. The fact that we may be able to predict our evolutionary paths is a testament to how (self)conscious humans have become. And it is the evolution of consciousness itself that has allowed us to make these predictions.
What really jumped out at me from these “possible” paths in human
evolution was number 5: Brain Rewiring. The author, Eva Fauen, (whose credibility I know nothing about) writes that our memories have already adapted
to the way knowledge and information is stored and we more readily remember
where we read or see something rather than the actual content in its entirety. “The human brain, being a machine striving for maximum efficiency,
typically remembers where information is stored, rather than the information
itself”. She believes our
reliance on technology may reduce the need for a very detailed memory in
humans.
As I attempted to remember where I had first found this article (which
sort of contradicted the claims that Fauen makes in that I could only remember
the content and not where I had found it…), I came across several other pieces
of writing on the same topic. Is
Google Wrecking our Memory? By Clive Thompson maintains that we evolved
to use “transactive memory” thousands of years ago. By this scientists mean we
store information in our significant others, family members, coworkers and
friends depending on their strengths. So that, in theory, when we work together, we are able to more efficiently remember facts
or details of past events. This phenomenon is an unconscious action taken by the human brain. It happens casually: a group of friends studying for a test will collectively cover more content than a person studying alone, a couple recounting a past event will jog eachothers memory to create a more complete and detailed description, etc.
Thompson claims that we now use search engines like Google to fulfill our transactive memory, "We’re dumber and less cognitively nimble if
we're not around other people—and, now, other machines". This statement makes me wonder how this type of human reliance on machines will affect a collective consciousness (if there is one), collective knowledge and most importantly collective memories. Will entire memories be stored in machines?
Juan Enriquez thinks so, "It's not completely inconceivable that some day you'll be able to download your own memories. Maybe into a new body. And maybe you can upload other people's memories as well. And, this might have just one or two small ethical, political, moral implications. Just a thought..."
Though he jokes about the implications of such a technology, the same questions are relevant now.
It seems as though the very machines humans have brought into existence could be changing the course of our evolution. So now the same circularity, addressed by Teilhard, in using human consciousness to talk about consciousness may become true of our relationship to technology. Which will advance which? Or who will advance who?
When human memory becomes an electronically transferable form, similar to that Thompson and Enriquez are speaking of, where Google replaces the need to think and remember and your memories can be extracted and fed into the system, I believe humankind will cease to exist. It is through memories, and the accumulation of those memories, that we learn and experience the world. To lose that would be to lose what makes us the most human, what molds us into the beings we emerge into in our adulthood. To lose the ability or need to form memories would create a certain kind of technologically induced apathy, similar to what we feel while scrolling down our Facebook feeds, but of such a tragic level that I believe our earthly experiences would be reduced to that of those who live within the Matrix. Some would potentially see this as an evolution of mankind, a removal of the human mind from the earthly bonds, thus creating a being who lives a life of entirely the mind. However, I see this as a devolution into a state of total stasis and a change brought on by sloth and fear. We would no longer rely on others for things such as 'transactive' memory because we would be plugged into a system that, in effect, quiets the mind as it answers all, and removes the physical experience from the human experience. Total isolation.
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