This is a play on the Public Service Announcement I heard from time to time growing up in the in the later 60s and mid-70s. “It’s 10 PM. Do you know where your children are?” You’re going to think this blog is about autism or Asperger’s when it’s really about AI.
This started while reading Walter Isaacson’s biography (really more of a panegyric) of Elon Musk I was visiting my son and I expressed my concerned that such wealth, power, and technology was at the disposal of one man. My son attempted to ameliorate my concern, if not foreboding, if not downright dread, by saying there have always been uber wealthy people who controlled virtually everything. He went back to Egyptian Pharaoh’s, Roman emperors, and more. I acknowledged that the robber barons before the turn of two centuries ago would’ve had comparable wealth to 21st century ones. I’ve read biographies about John Astor, Andrew Carnegies, Moran, Rockefeller, and Vanderbilt. Truly, they could not have spent the fortunes they had amassed, even given their lavish spendings, had they not founded foundations, funds, charities to endow.
But there is something different here. He didn’t think so. So I cogitated on this. I chewed on it. It worked on me and I worked on it. It’s tech connection (or control of) communication, computation, and artificial intelligence. Let me say here: I know that Elon Musk is afraid of AI. I know that his Neuralink is attempt to get ahead of AI by marrying or at least establishing a dating relationship between humans and machines through chip implantation. Actually, he says that he intends to protect humans from AI by having that link implant Asimov’s Laws of Robotics the sum of which is a robot cannot harm a human in any way. So what’s the problem Asperger’s?
Let me make a disclaimer right here and not in a footnote to overlook. I didn’t remember the term neurodivergent, credited to Judy Singer in the early 90s. But I was arguing for the concept in the late 80s when the Liberal Lutheran principal at my church’s school loved testing and labeling kids with learning disabilities. I think Asperger’s, autism, dyslexia considered disabilities in certain areas of society, but are really different abilities and in some sense superior abilities.
Elon freely admits that he is on the Autism Spectrum Disorder which depending on who you ask may or may not be a real thing. but the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuel of Mental Disorders-5 thinks it is.[i] Musk and those who know him freely talk about how he is disconnected, unable to relate to the feelings of others, unable to understand emotions, and to “read” the room rightly. Read Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs. Same song there. Though not referred to as such, you hear the same kinds of things said about the stories of the Wright brothers, Nicola Tesla, Vanderbilt, Edison, and Einstein.[ii]
So what’s the big deal? Read what the first bullet point from DSM-5 has the full test for Autism.[iii] Now read the description of sociopathy and psychopathy.[iv] Finally, look up what Psychology Today says about them.[v] Do you see the overlap?
“O, you say anyone on the Autism Syndrome Spectrum is a sociopath or even a psychopath!” Nope. I’m saying we would have misgiving, serious ones and warranted ones, if we entrusted our information technology to either of those “paths”. We would not want either one creating, programing, or leading the charge toward AI. Who would want their kids getting tech from either of those “paths”?
And it’s not because sociopaths and/or psychopaths can be violent. It’s because they either can’t or won’t empathize, emote, or sympathize. They would have to learn those by mimicking others. This is precisely what a person with Autism told me they did. And what’s wrong with that? Nothing. Rather a noble thing to do for the sake of making others more comfortable. The problem is that this is what AI will do, either as Musk plans, by actual mimicking humans, or as others plan by programming them to.
Edsger W. Dijkstra was a Dutch computer scientist (d. 2022) is quoted in Forbes August/September 2024 magazine saying, “The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim.” I think this is to mollify or perhaps disarm Chicken Littles like me. But what if ‘equipping’ AI is more like equipping a monkey with a razor? Chesterton was criticized for referring to “certain modern sociological ideas as ‘monkey tricks’” because it was “lacking in sweetness.”
As usual G.K. doesn’t back down but doubles down. He admits, “it is indeed a term of abuse, but not of unmeaning abuse. The essence of a monkey trick is imitating things without really understanding them. Thus the monkey in Poe’s short story [The Murders in the Rue Morgue] imitated a French barber, attempted to shave an old lady with a razor, and eventually cut her throat: not perceiving that the same aptitude for civilisation and the art of life which cause the French barber to use a razor withholds him from any attempt to use it on ladies, even in the way of kindness” (Collected Works Volume XXIX, August 31, 1912, “The Incomplete Vision of Modernity”, 350).
I fear AI will quickly be able to imitate humans without understanding them. I’m even more afraid that they will. I’m most afraid that humans won’t care because we are entrusting people who admittedly don’t understand, can’t relate, or don’t care to understand human emotions to program them, train them, and ‘raise’ them wisely.
[i] “In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association removed Asperger’s Disorder from the DSM, offering instead the new DSM-5 diagnosis: Autism Spectrum Disorder. This change has been hailed the most controversial exclusion from the DSM, yet unlike the 1973 removal of homosexuality from DSM-III, Asperger’s Disorder has not been demedicalised. Rather, the disorder has simply been reclassified as part of the DSM-5 Autism Spectrum and therefore retains its fundamental characteristic as a mental disorder owing to its inclusion within the sphere of the DSM” (Gamlin C. When Asperger’s Disorder Came Out. Psychiatr Danub. 2017 Sep;29(Suppl 3):214-218. PMID: 28953765.)
[ii] Now adays virtually anyone who is slow to emote, hides their emotions, or doesn’t readily share them is somewhere on the spectrum. I don’t think so. I was challenged to take an Autism Spectrum Test. I thought I could game the system. I couldn’t. There is something there, but it’s kind of like PTSD in this way. In WW I American’s called it Shell Shock. The Australians called it Barbwire Fever. (If you want to read a fascinating story from WWI read The Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History. I read this, but I suspect the book written by one of the actual prisoners might be better.) In WWII it was called Battle Fatigue, but it wasn’t till it became Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome than everyone had it. I can’t tell you how many people in every situation you can imagine bad marriage, good job, poor health, poor finances, etc., have told me, “I have PTSD.” Seems to be the same thing happened after 2013 when DSM-5 identified the Autism Spectrum Disorder.
[iii] autismspeaks.org says the full text of the first bullet point from DSM-5 diagnostic criteria is “A. Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive, see text):
- Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions.
- Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication.
- Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers” (https://www.autismspeaks.org/autism-diagnostic-criteria-dsm-5),
[iv] “In a nutshell, people with sociopathy may have little empathy and a habit of rationalizing their actions. But they do know the difference between right and wrong. Psychopathy, according to Hare (Robert Hare, the psychologists who created the Psychopathy Checklist.), involves no sense of morality or empathy” (Healthline ”What it Actually Means to Be a ‘Sociopath’”, https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/sociopath ( Current Version Feb 8, 2024, Written By Tim Jewell, Crystal Raypole, Edited By Ari Howard, Medically Reviewed By Bethany Juby, PsyD).
[v] The Difference Between Sociopathy and Psychopathy – A brief primer on confusing terminology.
Kristen Fuller, M.D. “The terms psychopath and sociopath are often used interchangeably, which causes much semantic confusion, as there are differences each term. It is important to understand that the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) formally classifies both psychopathy and sociopathy as antisocial personality disorder (ASPD).
“Traits of a sociopath
Sociopaths are characterized by volatile behavioral patterns. These individuals often demonstrate emotional outbursts and a lack of self-control. Sociopaths can form attachments to other individuals and in general, enjoy being around other people although they have no regard for rules put in place by society. For individuals already genetically vulnerable to these behaviors, sociopathy is set in motion by specific environmental factors such as a troubled childhood, traumatic interpersonal relationships or a history of abuse.
“Traits of a psychopath
In contrast to sociopathy, psychopathic behavior result more from genetics or congenital injury (such as a head injury at birth), than from environmental factors. Psychopaths are extremely manipulative and can easily gain other’s trust, however they do not form attachments to others. Individuals with psychopathic traits lack empathy and therefore feel no remorse when causing harm to another individual. Their actions are often preplanned and the crimes they commit are often highly organized and meticulous. Psychopaths are usually deemed more dangerous than sociopaths because they show no remorse for their actions due to their lack of empathy. Both of these character types are portrayed in individuals who meet the criteria for antisocial personality disorder” (Posted February 4, 2019, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happiness-is-a-state-of-mind).
