OUR intelligence, the very trait we like to think makes us the pinnacle of evolution, could be our undoing. “Human beings tend to think being clever is such a good thing, but it might be that from an evolutionary perspective, being stupid is much better,” says philosopher of the University of Mainz, Germany.
Humans have evolved a unique form of intelligence, with cognitive complexity unseen in other species. This has been the secret behind our agricultural, scientific and technological progress. It has let us dominate a planet and understand vast amounts about the universe. But it has also brought us to the brink of catastrophe: climate change looms and a mass extinction is already under way, yet there is little sign of a concerted effort to change our ways.
Our troubles could be compounded by the fact that human genetic diversity is abysmally low. “One small group of chimpanzees has more genetic diversity than the entire human species,” says Michael Graziano of Princeton University. It’s not unthinkable that a global disaster could wipe us out.
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For this, we have an awkward double-act to blame. Metzinger argues that we have reached this point because our intellectual prowess must still work alongside hardwired primitive traits. “It is cognitive complexity, but without compassion and flexibility in our motivational structure,” says Metzinger.
In other words, we are still motivated by some rather basic instincts, such as greed and jealousy, and not by a desire for global solidarity, empathy or rationality. And it’s unclear whether we will evolve the necessary social skills in time to thwart planetary disaster.
Another part of the problem is that our intelligence comes with so-called cognitive biases. For instance, psychologists have shown that humans pay less attention to future risk compared with present risk, something that makes us routinely take decisions that are good in the short term but disastrous in the long term. This may be behind our inability to fully fathom the risks of climate change, for example.
Humans also have what philosophers call existence bias, which influences our view of the value of life – it’s better to exist than not. Ultimately, we tend to focus on the positives. But what if our intelligence were to develop in a way that meant we lost such biases?
In fact, super-intelligent aliens may have already achieved that. With a balanced outlook no longer weighted to the short term and a clear-eyed view of suffering, such a life form could decide that life is just not worth it. “They may have come to the conclusion that it’s better to terminate their own existence,” says Metzinger.
Could that explain why we haven’t yet made contact with an alien intelligence? “Possibly,” he says.
Read more: “10 discoveries that would change everything”
This article appeared in print under the headline “What if … Intelligence is a dead end?”
