Love, compassion and AI

Surely the human heart thinks very differently from an AI-controlled computer. I can cite a very concrete example by which a computer can never match the human.

I have many contacts in Panama and things regularly go wrong in communication between me and my friends. I speak quite a bit of Spanish now, but much of it is really too difficult for me. I really need a translator then. I don't use Google Translate, because that almost always gives a lousy translation. No, I always use DeepL. This is a translator based on deep learning algorithms that translates much better than the other translators currently out there. It often gives me a correct translation, or at least I understand it.

A classic mistake it often makes is the difference between friend and girlfriend. In Spanish they are really two different words, but in Dutch they have the same root. Another common mistake made by translators is gender. Often words are converted to the masculine form, which can sometimes cause inconsistencies as well.

But today I got the idea to write this blog based on a message I received. The message had a very sweet and sincere intention. It is Father's Day, and the person wished me much strength. At least, that's what my heart gave me in. The message itself did not have the proper punctuation and was therefore completely mistranslated. Anyone who would have read it could not understand any of it. The translator was completely misguided.

The point I want to make is that a computer that, no matter how smart, and with this much computing power can never take over the heart. Among other things, a heart can hurt, repent, love and show compassion. A computer can only do the things that are already known. A computer cannot believe. A computer is limited in what people put into it. That is not to say that there are no dangers to AI. But this is created by humans.

My heart saw in the very bad text the intent of the message. The text contained nothing of the history between the sender and me. My heart can correct and love. It is not the first time a translator has scolded me. But I have now learned after analysis not to scold back. It is not the intention of my friends to scold me. It is simply a language and cultural barrier that a translator, no matter how clever, cannot remove. The human mind is and always will be needed to listen to people with compassion.