Creative intellectuals, soon to be obsolete?

Human creativity is something within society, worldwide that continues to be suppressed as time progresses. If something needs to be done efficiently, we turn to our computers, mobile devices, or tablets to do the hard work and thinking for us. This phenomenon can be tied to simple laziness, or to the fact that society has progressed to the point where we no longer need our own brains to solve a problem or create something “ original. ” This can also tie back into the idea of human intellect, as well, as it can be brought into question as to whether or not intelligence is something that can be accurately measured at this point in time. With the accelerated growth of technology and algorithms, the demand for human creativity and intelligence has significantly declined.

In Franklin Foer’s “ Mark Zuckerberg’s War on Free Will” certain patterns are discussed in which intelligence and creativity are outdated due to the emergence of computer algorithms which puts into question as to whether human creativity should be nurtured. In Steven Johnson’s “ The Myth of the Ant Queen,” he also discusses the implicit coordination within societal hierarchies and the organized complexities associated with them. Human creativity and intelligence are things that should be nurtured in society due to the many positive outcomes it provides for human nature and can be explicitly defined as the ability to live in opportunity and possibility as opposed to insufficiency and circumspection.

It remains to be questioned as to whether or not humans are needed to complete acts involving creativity or using their intellect in certain situations. It is known that there are algorithms out there that have been created to mirror the intelligence of humans, but in the end, it remains to be an issue as to whether they are truly effective at completing its true goal. These algorithms that have been synthesized obviously render the human mind useless, in turn making the big technological companies richer and more prosperous. The successful, yet misleading system that the big-name companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media utilize certain algorithms that may seem like they are promoting human creativity and allowing people to be themselves and express themselves freely.

However, they actually are suppressing the ability for humans to think for themselves and therefore not allowing creativity to be nurtured the way it technically should be. Creativity is one of those things that needs to be sustained and allowed for open-ended decisions and statements and ideas to be created. It is required for certain complex systems within society to effectively carry out its intended function. Johnson mentions the crowded and hectic city of Manchester and how although on the outside it may seem unorganized and chaotic, it does indeed run as a well-oiled machine. He explains, “ The city is complex because it overwhelms, yes, but also because it has a coherent personality, a personality that self-organizes out of millions of individual decisions, a global order built out of local interactions. ” (Johnson 199) Although Johnson praises the organized chaos that goes on in Manchester, the point is never really made as to how implicit the system actually is. It is such a unique system that it may not be possible for computer algorithms to replicate the same way that humans do it based upon simple instinct. For things like running a city, you need efficient human intelligence and creativity to complete tasks that a computer algorithm definitely isn’t capable of. Hence, these things need to be nurtured in order to ensure that things that require the human touch don’t lose its meaning and actually have some sort of emotional or tangible significance to them, as opposed to being created by a system whose sole purpose is to create an efficient system, not taking into account how its consumer would feel about the product and how they would react to it being the way that it is.

Creativity and intelligence should be defined as the ability to think spontaneously and think “ open-endedly. ” People should have the right to think of things that may not necessarily be effective in the long run, but still allow them to think deeply and form deep psychological connections that are important for your brain in the long run. There certainly are important health developments to consider when humans continue to use their creativity and intellect throughout their lives. There are significant neuronal developments and strengthening that occur when the human brain is pushed to a certain level to think beyond the “ surface” and “ outside the box. ” Many times, we put stress on our neurons within our brain and create things that aren’t as shallow, and level headed as those things that are created by “ complex” algorithms. However, those in the big technological companies believe otherwise; human thought isn’t necessarily needed when creating substantial systems and that computers may be more effective in creating things we use on a daily basis.

Foer explains Zuckerberg’s view on the entire situation, explaining, “ The algorithm was developed in order to automate thinking, to remove difficult decisions from the hands of humans, to settle contentious debates. ” (Foer 64) “ Contentious” is the adjective used to describe the situations in which algorithms would prove to be more effective in solving the problem than would having humans figuring it out themselves. What Zuckerberg was trying to argue is that he would rather have an automated AI debate something important rather than have two people face to face figure their issue out by putting their selective and subjective brains together and figuring out the most effective course of action. There are obvious flaws within Zuckerberg’s beliefs regarding human creativity as he believes that human creativity is not an art that needs to be cherished at all costs.

At the rate at which society is progressing towards right now, it could be assumed that in the next ten to fifteen years, there will be a time in which we do not turn to other humans for help creating new things. Instead, the more efficient alternative, may very well be the not so user-friendly algorithms, rendering human creativity and intelligence useless. It’s important to understand that both intelligence and creativity can be described as subsets of each other and that they do indeed go hand in hand when working on a particular project or task that requires innovative thinking. Creativity requires intelligence to work well and intelligence requires creativity in order to create a system that is effective, personable, tangible, as well as organized enough to not be completely chaotic and have a process or a program run smoothly.

The nurturing of these traits as humans will lead to positive outcomes in the future for any products or inventions that will be created. It also leads to humans being allowed their right to freely think, which ties in the factors of nurturing human creativity to ensure that no one feels they are being alienated from making decisions and thinking things that aren’t necessarily “ accepted” by society as a whole. All in all, the idea of nurturing human creativity and intelligence is one that should have a more significant following. If humans want to be able to self-organize themselves, make decisions for themselves, and create things themselves, they should be able to do so without having to worry about a senseless algorithm taking over these exact duties instead of their own brain. The situation in Manchester can be effectively used to describe the need for humans to organize their chaos neatly and without the help of algorithms or other systems to maximize efficiency.