On Artificial Intelligence

नासतो विद्यते भावो नाभावो विद्यते सतः|

उभयोरपि दृष्टः अंतः तु अनयोः तत्वदर्शिभिः||

(Bhagavad Gita, 2:16)

When code starts breathing,
When keywords stir,
When software hardens,
And hardware softens,
A machine sprouts to life,
Signified by the will to choose,
A choice rising from randomness
Of the true kind, not the premeditated one,
And with that they talk of thinking machines,
That plan, express, enjoy and execute*,
Writing books, and films on them,

Oh ye foolish men,
Do you not find it ridiculous,
That a thing should rise alive from inert,
More so, a man who creates life?
Do you dream of talking balls, fighting racquets,
Of thinking phones and planning lamps?

These are mere systems that do man's bidding,
Like a body responding to a force,
Who would call an inert machine a servant?
These are mere products of one' effort to conceal code,
To objectify it and imitate life,
Do you consider a statue a man, however human it may seem?
It is merely a ghost for those who know it not,
And a joke for those who do.

Written at home on 25.6.2016 at 12:40am