Apple co-founder Wozniak says computers are making humans less relevant

APPLE CO-FOUNDER Steve Wozniak told university graduates that advances in computers are making humans less relevant.

Wozniak was speaking at a graduation ceremony at Michigan State University, where he received an honourary doctorate in engineering.

He said that computers are being adapted to do the work for us, making us less relevant. "The cyborgs are winning! The androids are winning!" he added jovially.

He said that the future will bring more realistic artificial intelligence, which will be more like a real person that we can talk to, and one that understands us, including the kinds of jokes we like.

This technology will need human senses, Wozniak predicted. He said a computer cannot create art if it doesn't have this kind of human understanding. That might soon change, however, as computers now can hear and see, feel objects and sense motion.

Holograms are on the near horizon too, he said, adding that these are much better than the recent craze of 3D TV.

"We've created a new species, no question," Wozniak said. "We're creators and, like I said, we're making ourselves less relevant."

It's difficult to match the somewhat optimistic tone of Wozniak's address with the grim prospect of our irrelevancy. He joked and people laughed, and many will see humanity's technological developments as a sign of progress, an achievement to be proud of, but the thought that our technology might make us obsolete seems somewhat worrying.

Isaac Asimov, the author of the I, Robot short story, wrote about those who feared that artificial intelligence would eventually replace humanity. He called it the Frankenstein complex, and while that might sound like science fiction to many, hearing the co-founder of one of the world's top technology firms hint at it raises some questions.

There's no doubt that we are advancing technology at a rapid pace. Wozniak pointed out how there has been a major shift from developing technology for governments and the military to the consumer, which has resulted in developing more useful everyday technology in larger volume at lower prices.

Even Moore's Law shows how we are making great advances in short periods of time. But will this pace quicken to such an extent that we can no longer manage it? The Pope recently said that technology cannot replace God, but can it replace humans? µ