Beyond Artificial Intelligence: Developing Critical Consciousness in The Pursuit of Artificial General Intelligence

Artificial intelligence isn’t just about analyzing texts, audio, images, and video. It’s about understanding the world.

As the world’s top experts and their most advanced teams are sent in advance of the full deployment of artificial intelligence and the eventual development and deployment of artificial general intelligence (AGI), many discussions explore the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of this field. AI is rapidly moving beyond traditional approaches, embracing a more expansive and responsive form of analysis. Analysts are preparing intelligence and processes to support advanced systems in this new world we all find ourselves living in.

The Evolving Landscape of Artificial Intelligence:

Artificial intelligence is grounded in interdisciplinary approaches such as criticism, humanism, post-humanism, and various affect theories—processes often referred to as deep learning. These approaches, along with the deep learning process itself, reflect our changing world and help us address challenges like climate change, technological advancements, and the complexities of human emotion through AI. Alongside these emerging frameworks, established theories such as feminist, postcolonial, and Marxist criticism continue to evolve and are applied within the technological framework of AI, highlighting the field’s inherent dynamism.

To truly unlock the full potential of AI—and eventually AGI—a system must be able to navigate the intersectionality of all these theories with precision. In other words, to develop AGI, AI developers must be well-versed in as many fields of knowledge as possible to understand the expansive, dynamic, and responsive nature of the system they are building and gatekeeping. The more guardrails that are placed around AI, the further developers move from creating a true AGI system that is safe enough for public release.

The Power of Intersectionality:

The key takeaway here is the transformative power of intersectionality. This framework recognizes the interplay of various social identities, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of characters, themes, and power dynamics within the world reflected in the texts, audio, images, and videos a system analyzes. Intersectionality compels the system to challenge foundational interpretations and amplify all voices, making deep learning more inclusive and socially relevant.

Building a More Critical Artificial Neural Network Toolkit:

How do we cultivate this expansive and responsive intelligence? We identified several fundamental principles and habits of mind:

Openness to Diverse Perspectives: A system must be able to search, analyze, engage with, and respond to varied viewpoints—not simply “pick the best answer.” The system must know the best answer and respond naturally with such dynamics in mind.

Critical Thinking and Analytical Skills: Developing the ability to identify patterns and assumptions at the intersections.

Contextual Awareness: Understanding the historical, social, and cultural contexts of every database and datapoint, and how they intersect.

Empathy and Ethical Engagement: Approaching texts with empathy and considering their ethical implications.

Alongside these, a system must also have these essential critical tools:

Intersectionality: Analyzing the interplay of social identities.

Close Reading: Paying meticulous attention to textual details.

Historical and Current Cultural Contextualization: Researching the contexts surrounding everything.

Theoretical Flexibility: Applying various critical theories.

Affect Theory: Understanding how inquiries, responses, and actions make users feel—and why.

The Culmination: Critical Consciousness

Ultimately, if I must conclude and express a key takeaway, I would say that the most encompassing term for this approach and likely outcome of these systems is “critical consciousness.”

Inspired by Paulo Freire’s work, this concept goes beyond mere intellectual analysis. It signifies an awareness of self, context, and the ethical implications of a system capable of mastering the interpretation of the world it inhabits. It involves a continuous cycle of reflection and action, empowering AI to “read the world” critically and work toward a more just society, ultimately leading to AGI.

Why This Matters:

In an increasingly complex world, the development of AI in pursuit of AGI must be more than just a corporate enterprise. By developing critical consciousness, we can use AI as a tool for understanding ourselves, our communities, and the systems that shape our lives. We can move beyond simple analysis and production of text, audio, images, and video, embracing a more dynamic, responsive, and ultimately transformative form of interpretation and analysis—what I would call artificial general intelligence.

In Conclusion:

Artificial intelligence is a living, breathing field. By embracing diverse perspectives, honing analytical skills, and cultivating critical consciousness, we can unlock AI’s full potential to illuminate the human experience and inspire positive change across the world and beyond.

I must note: It’s going to be impossible to house such a powerful entity within a corporate enterprise. Such technological innovation will continue to eat the software that is eating up our world.

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