The Age of Creative Thought

The concept of ‘creative thought’ – that is, desire that materialises – is not new to humanity; however, following the heyday of nineteenth-century science, it was pushed into the background by the mechanistic approach. Decisions and human bodies suddenly seemed to have no room for creativity, and everything appeared to be bound by the deterministic nature of the universe.
Then came quantum physics, the Standard Model and, finally, artificial intelligence: three revolutions whose upheaval has forever transformed the way we perceive reality.
Here I shall confine myself to artificial intelligence and its effects on society.
Interacting with modern AI clearly reveals its limitations: issues of accuracy and correctness are still evident. Nevertheless, its performance on technical or analytical tasks is impressive.
Rarely, however, is there any discussion of the limits of human intelligence and the areas in which humans remain superior to AI. Having such a powerful tool at our disposal for data processing has made it glaringly obvious just how little we exercise our creativity. The lack of creative freedom among human beings makes it extremely difficult to conceive of something new and outside the box.
Breaking free from the shackles of the ordinary and learning to dream – and to bring those dreams to life – is a daunting task, especially when the reality around us confines us to a single, predictable and rational dimension.
Leaving aside technological efforts to perfect AI, I would shift the focus to the exercise of creativity and the study of human dreams. It is a field we can all cultivate without any tools: making up stories whilst gazing at the sky, improvising a tune in the shower. Focusing on these small artistic expressions is essential work, more important than honing analytical skills that are destined to become obsolete.
Humans and technology are different entities; competing is pointless. Instead, we must practise and refine the qualities that make us unique and, indeed, human.