In my last column, I had discussed the importance of asking questions and listed a few we could all ask ourselves. One was, ‘what distinguishes the human from the animal’. Today, I ask, what makes us human?
These are the days of technology and humans working together. The age of intelligent machines, artificial and natural intelligence, algorithms and analytics. A present which foretells a future that will not have many occupations of today. Not only are we competing and coexisting with fellow humans, but we are also working with machines. As machines are becoming more human, we must ensure the reverse doesn’t happen.
Value humanity
In such times, being acutely aware of the nuances of technology and how they will influence life becomes an indispensable skill. But perhaps more pertinent is our ability to be human itself. There is no better time to value our humanity and nourish whatever makes us human.
Now, what if a machine were to assess us and tell us we are indeed human, and not machines? This is the intriguing — and even comical — irony of the ‘CAPTCHA’. This ‘Completely Automated Public Turing Test to tell Computers and Humans Apart’ is a test to determine whether someone using a computer is human. Most of us have taken this test, at some point or the other, to ‘prove’ to a website that we are humans.
The test, administered by computers, often contains distorted letters or images, which we are expected to identify. The current assumption is that only humans have this skill. But in a world where algorithms are ‘writing’ sonnets, it is only a matter of time before machines can easily get through a CAPTCHA. Surely, our humanity is a condition that surpasses such mundane literal skills.
Though highly philosophical, this question provokes us to seek those qualities within us, which help our humanity. What purpose drives us on a daily basis? What do we accomplish every day? How happy are the people we interact with? Does interacting or working with us make them happier?
Attributes
Empathy, sensitivity, creativity, love and imagination are far more complex attributes, which make us human and better humans at that. Each of these influences our behaviour considerably, wherever we play a social role. As long as we live in a world that requires us to interact with other people, we will need to be empathetic and kind. Recently, I was part of a discussion and we observed how ‘human resources’ is a term that made no sense. Yet, we all use it. Some of us may even be HR professionals. People are not resources. Objects are. We can and need to be resourceful. And for that, we need to demonstrate human qualities.
These are the qualities that will be in demand in the workplace of the future. We may even need to learn them as skills. Hope we will not be required to have certifications in imagination, empathy or kindness. We can begin today, if we haven’t started already. We can ask ourselves, what makes us human. And be just that, every day.
The author is a writer and literary journalist. She also heads Corporate Communications at UST Global. Twitter: @anupamaraju
