The Tarzan story has continued to fascinate people. Endlessly.
A human raised by apes in a jungle, totally removed from civilization.
Is Tarzan less than, or beyond, human?
Beyond seems to be the implied answer.
FLASH FORWARD: Marge and Harry just had a baby. They weren’t planning on it. They don’t want the baby.
A kindly person contacts them: “You know, we can raise this beautiful infant. In our facility. It will be under the loving care of AI. Perfect replicas of humans enhanced by AI programs which give them IQs of over 200. THEY will raise your child. They will teach it. They will care for it. Better than humans can. Apart from human society.”
Harry and Marge shrug. Why not? Much simpler than dealing with a conventional adoption agency.
Two AI robots as parents for their child.
The child will be educated at a high level. Who knows what it’ll be able to accomplish when it reaches adulthood? It’ll be safe in the meantime.
The child is named Tarzan. The whole story is told again, at a different level.
Is Tarzan less than, or beyond, human? Obviously, beyond. Right?
Of course, Tarzan’s two new AI parents aren’t thought of as robots. I’m using that term. Most people think of the bots as alive. Conscious.
They can talk, write, walk, run, read, carry out thousands of tasks, and they can present a perfect simulation of: caring for others.
But why quibble? Is the simulation of caring really different from the human version?
If a successful AI company can take in 50,000 infants and place them under AI care…why not?
50,000 Tarzans. That’s a new twist on the old story.
If most humans won’t be able to tell the difference between their own kind and the latest models of AI enhanced robots, which are carefully designed to look and act as humans in every possible way…
Then who cares?