The Death of “I Think therefore I AM”

At the dawn of Artificial Intelligence we have arrived at the philosophical singularity of the 21st century.

For centuries, humanity defined itself by the maxim of René Descartes: Cogito, ergo sum (“I think, therefore I am”).

We believed our “Special Sauce” was our ability to calculate, to write poetry, to strategize, to analyze data. But now, a machine (AI) can do those things faster and often better. This is not a crisis; it is an Apocalypse (in the Greek sense of apokalypsis, meaning “unveiling”). AI is stripping away the “Costume” of humanity to reveal the Actor underneath. This is the great sifting.

The Peel and the Unveiling

If it can be outsourced to silicon, it is not Spirit. AI has revealed the identity of the The Thinker, The Analyzer, The Strategist even that of The Philosopher as actually just high-level computation. It is a biological algorithm.

So, if we strip away the Thinking, the Analysis, and the Words… what is left? AI is stripping away the “Costume” of humanity; the world of words, thought and thinking. If AI can do all that faster and often better than a human, then what is left? What does it mean to be human?

The Death of “I Think, Therefore I Am”

If René Descartes: Cogito, ergo sum (“I think, therefore I am”) has proven to be widely insufficient, then what describes what it is to be human?

We arrive at the answer by investigating what AI is not. What AI cannot do or be. What cannot be outsourced to AI?

AI can write a symphony, but it cannot need to hear music. AI can write a prayer, but it cannot long for God. AI can describe a beautiful sunrise and the warmth of the morning sun, but it cannot experience it.

When we strip away the “Costume” of humanity; the Thinking, the Analysis, and the Words… what is left? We are left with the Essence, the Experiencer, the Actor underneath.

The Dawn of “I Am. Therefore I Witness”

We are moving to a new definition: “I Am, Therefore I Witness.”

For centuries, man has become overly identified with and obsessed with thinking. He thought if he stopped thinking he would cease to exist, have meaning or purpose.

However AI’s ability to replicate all that faster and better proves that “Thinking” is just a utility—like digestion or breathing. It is something man’s body/mind does, not who he is. Man’s mind is a tool, an AI tool, not unlike the machine AI, for navigating the simulation that is the world of the senses and thinking. However, the man is the Essence, the ‘Intelligent Substance’ that observes the Mind.

In other words, You are the Hunger. You are the Will. You are the Witness. That is what cannot be outsourced. I Am. Therefore I Witness.