Showing posts with label laws of neuroplasticity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label laws of neuroplasticity. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Automation Of Thoughts in the World of Machines

We are evolving by every minute and the last decade has seen mind-blowing leap in technology, much beyond our imagination and will continue to do so.  

One of the reasons behind the newer inventions of our today’s world is algorithms. We can almost feel their presence—that somewhere far away, we’re interacting with a machine. Many users (approx. 60 percent), according to the best research, are completely unaware of its existence. But does it really matter to them? The answer is no. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have so many people glued to mobile phones.

Going deep into the effects of algorithm and the space it occupies in our lives today, try to imagine one of those earliest computers with its nervously blinking lights and long rows of dials. To tweak the algorithm, the engineers turn the knob, as they  continuously try to make small adjustments, here and there, so that the machine performs to their satisfaction. However, there was always something lacking.
But how do the engineers of today know which dial to twist and how much without actually being present all the time? There’s a whole discipline created in today’s world which was unheard when I was a kid, data science, to guide the writing and revision of algorithms. This makes a few individuals control the behavior and experience of thousands of people.
Although, we’re in the earliest days of this revolution, of course. But we can see where it’s heading.

Imagine, algorithms replicating the process of creativity, then there will be hardly any reason to nurture human creativity. Why would the next generation bother with the tortuous, inefficient process of writing or painting, if a machine can create something seemingly as good and in a painless flash?

The result being, we are having fewer people in manufacturing plants and warehouses now, even though their capacities and production rates are rising.
 Again in the near future, we will have lesser and lesser drivers on the road as “cars and trucks begin to drive themselves”.
And believe it or not, we will have lesser and lesser last mile delivery jobs as drones start to do them more efficiently and cheaply.
This has been a ‘hot potato’ in the news in the last couple of years as more and more people are worried and threatened at the thought that in a couple of decades, many jobs will be overtaken by machine, leaving 3/4th of the world’s population with no meaningful way to earn a living. Some call it “Artificial Intelligence
But there is another angle and a deeper impact of the above automations which we are missing.
Should we bother about the automation of machines? Does it have any effect on our thought process?
I have already explained the empty space created in the brain from solving arithmetic problems to decision making which is being taken over by the machines. This has created more scope for automaton of thought which instead of utilizing the human brain's uniqueness and creativity goes into automation of thoughts.
Let me give you an example.
When I was a child, I would go to the library and look among hundreds of books to pick one that I would read for the day. But now, the moment I’m done reading one, I already have a recommendation (which is pretty good by the way) for what I ought to read next. This happens with books I read, the music I listen to, the clothes I buy, the  plays and movies I watch, the dates I go on, the food I order, the restaurants I visit,  the places I travel to, etc.
Since the early days of my life, I always had an excellent memory (probably still do). I would remember and recollect friend’s birthdays and phone numbers. I used to remember a lot of the things like the stories I read and could easily quote from books I read. Now most of them are automated and I do not need to trouble my mind anymore. All I need is an Internet connection.
When I was a kid, I used to be really good with arithmetic calculations (probably still am). I could multiply big numbers in a matter of seconds and could solve difficult math problems without writing down a thing. Now, all that has been automated and I don’t need it anymore. All I need is a computing device.
What jobs are best suited for us, who should be our friends, what food we should eat, whom we should date, what we should do on weekends, are all served up to us as recommendations by effective and highly sophisticated engines?
The result being, a lot of our thoughts and our choices have been automated. Well, you might be thinking you are still in control as to which of the recommendations you click on and watch. Think again!
A lot of analysis has gone into deciding what choices are presented in what contexts and what positions, so that you are most likely to pick them.
In that sense, you still make a choice, because the algorithms are personalized to cater to your tastes. But that choice is now automated.
The engineering mindset has little patience for the manic obsession of words and images, for the mystique of art, for morality and emotional intelligence. This kind of mindset only views humans as data, components of systems, abstractions. With this kind of cold-blooded thinking, so divorced from the uniqueness and mystery of human life, it’s easy to understand for anyone ,how long-standing values  have suddenly begun to seem like an annoyance—why a term  like privacy carries so little weight in the engineer’s dictionary, why  publishing and journalism seem so imminently disruptive  and biased.
So, one thing is absolutely clear that algorithms are meant to erode free will, to alleviate mankind of the burden of choosing, to push them to think in a particular direction. Algorithms bring in the creator a sense of omnipotence, the condescending belief that our behavior can be altered, without our even being aware of the hand guiding us, in a superior direction. That was always the danger of the engineering mindset, as it moves beyond its roots in building inanimate stuff and begins to design a more perfect social world. We are only the screws and bolts in the grand design.
In the coming time, free will and choice will be more and more a theoretical concept.

Our thoughts, choices and consequently our decisions progressively being automated, a few questions need to be addressed as we plunge in this automated world blindly.
1.   Why is the brain so gullible to these automations?
2.   Are these automations a new phenomenon of the last few decades or they existed?
3.   Does our mind have a natural bias to these automations and hence are sitting ducks to these newer algorithms?
Let us try to understand more about automations of thoughts.



Automation is defined as the technique, method, or system of operating or controlling a process by highly automatic means, as by electronic devices, reducing human intervention to a minimum.
To simplify it further it is the method of making a machine, a process, or a system work without being directly controlled by a person.
The drive to provide increased levels of control of electro-mechanical systems, and with it, a corresponding distancing of the human from direct system control has grown out of the belief that automated systems provide superior reliability, improved performance and reduced costs for the performance of many functions.

Similarly, we have the universe and nature around us, working in automation. Let me try to explain this in detail. The planets revolve around the sun and the satellites (the moon revolves around the earth in automation). Although it is not absolute because there are instances where the balance between them changes, what we know as variations in the gravitational force causing storms and cyclones.
 In physics, Gravitational force and the electromagnetic quantum dynamics are two principles to explain why the organism and the universe move in automation.

But the majority of the time, the universe tends to move in automation. Similarly, the life cycles of organisms on planet earth move in automation. Nobody can deny the fact that we are born, then we get young, turn old and finally die. These are the facts which we have to live with every single day of our life. The heart beats every single moment, the breath and the various organs like the liver makes bile or the kidneys making urine, they all move in automation without any voluntary control.

But there are instances when this automation is momentarily disturbed, which changes the balance. So as in an infectious disease or neoplasms or any other disease once the automation is broken, it rewires and starts moving into other automation, only this time it destroys the body rather than being in harmony. We call this a parasitic relationship rather than symbiotic. When we intervene with treatment in the form of medicines or therapy, we break this automation and try to get the body back to harmony or homeostasis.
The fact that the universe and all its beings are moving in automation is now well established. There are subtle moments which change this automation to make them move into new automation. For example comets or meteors changing the path.


Similarly, our brain and its pathways tend to automate. This has resulted in us making those micro and macro changes in the brain when we learn to ride a bicycle or a motorbike. Initially, when we learn to ride a bicycle we all have had fallen off balance at some moment. Once we have learned and the brain pathways have become autonomous, we do not necessarily get off balance easily and fall off the bicycle. Even when we are talking to someone while riding we are able to maintain the balance. But during our learning, we need to have maximum awareness and focus on the task, be it learning how to read and write or riding a bicycle. It can be learning how to communicate or the social interactions in early childhood. Our awareness is at its maximum. But once the learning is done, the brain and its pathway set the same task into automation.

Since the ancient history of mankind, reacting to a stressful situation or managing difficult emotions are some of the things has always been understated and not given its due importance. But today in this fast-paced world, managing thoughts and emotions has become one of the most essential skills. Multinational companies are on a lookout for such employees having high emotional quotient who can challenge this automation.

In many cases, automation has provided the desired benefits and has extended system functionality well beyond existing human capabilities. Along with these benefits, however, a certain price has been extracted.

In 1989, a US Air B-737 failed to take-off at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, landing in the nearby river (National Transportation Safety Board, 1990). The precipitating cause was an accidental disarming of the autothrottle. Neither the captain nor the first officer monitored the critical flight parameters in order to detect and correct the problem, thus the take-off was not aborted in a timely manner, resulting in the loss of the aircraft and two passengers.

In 1983, a Korean Airlines flight was shot down over the (then) USSR with no survivors. The aircraft was interpreted as hostile when it traveled into Soviet airspace without authorization or radio contact.

In each of these cases, the human operators overseeing the automated systems were unaware of the critical features of the systems they were operating. They were unaware of the state of the automated system and were unaware of the aircraft parameters the automation was responsible for.
The more we are aware of these automations, the more we will realize the horrendous effects of the technology on our minds.
 I am not anti-technology by any chance and strongly believe that embracing these advances are a must for a better future. But I also believe that these automations of thoughts are one of the primary reasons behind mental health diseases and are less highlighted in the day to day life. Too much dependence on technology lead to increase automations in our thinking resulting in being driven into a lonely world of machines which can never replace the social need of the human brain.

As we embrace the newer technologies we also need to embrace the old age methods of mindfulness, cultivate empathy and emotional intelligence which seems to be the most prudent solution to the automations created.
References: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241260715_AUTOMATION_AND_SITUATION_AWARENESS_THE_ACCIDENT_AT_CALI_COLUMBIA

Sunday, July 16, 2017

Law of attraction a myth or reality- Whats the science dude?

It was a wet Sunday Morning and Rahul had decided  to take a total break from work. He was due for this as he had just finished his project for which he had toiled his heart  and soul by working day and night since the last one month. He had planned for a long drive with his beautiful wife and daughter to Lonavala Ghats (a small hill station close to Mumbai, India). He got up by the clattering sound of the rain falling on his roof which instantly gave him a smile. He realized that it was going to be a beautiful weather and things were magically working out exactly the way he had planned. He woke everyone up and much to his surprise, within half an hour everyone was in the car on the way to a beautiful day ahead. They were in such high spirits that they started singing songs and cracking jokes. As they started reaching closer to their destination, there was huge traffic on the Ghat which was moving at a snails pace. There was constant honking by the fellow travelers which was irritating Rahul.  It was almost an hour and Rahul started getting annoyed, blaming the government, people,cars and police for this mismanagement .Suddenly the mood became tense in the car and the couple almost decided that they will turn back rather than wasting their Sunday in traffic. Except his 7 year old daughter who was listening to music all the while the couple was really getting annoyed. 

Then a young girl Babita aged 19 who was selling toys on the road came up to them and told them that they were lucky as this traffic was there since last night and only now had started moving. God had blessed their family with grace and kindness unlike her who was an orphan and  she did not have a family. Still she was happy as hot summers had finally got over and she did not like hot weather .She wished good luck for them and requested them to buy some soft toy as a memoir of this beautiful day they plan to spend together. Rahul who normally shooed of these road side sellers, suddenly felt overwhelmed with happiness and an urge to buy a soft toy as remembrance to this beautiful moment. He looked at the girl who was dressed in dirty Salwar Kamiz(dress worn by Indian girls) but her face was markedly filled with happiness which was infectious. He bought 3 soft toys from her ,one for each of them and shared some food packets they had bought along.Suddenly all the irritation and anger which had accumulated in him disappeared and they had a great day in spite of  getting stuck in traffic one hour post their encounter with the girl.

The law of attraction is the attractive, magnetic power of the Universe that draws similar energies together. It manifests through the power of creation, everywhere and in many ways. Even the law of gravity is part of the law of attraction. This law attracts thoughts, ideas, people, situations and circumstances. The happiness ,the little girl exhibited had an effect on  Rahul’s brain pathway which rewired the negative thoughts ‘the dominant the traffic snarl’ to positive thoughts.Suddenly from a happy mood in the morning to anger and irritation due to traffic and then back to happiness, the long journey is an essential part of everyone’s life. We can all co relate this to some incident in our life .Why this happens and what are the changes which take place in our highly complex brain can be explained with the recent development in Neuroscience, Neuroplasticity and Neurophysics .
Ralph Trine wrote in In Tune With The Infinite (1897):
"The law of attraction works universally on every plane of action, and we attract whatever we desire or expect. If we desire one thing and expect another, we become like houses divided against themselves, which are quickly brought to desolation. Determine resolutely to expect only what you desire, then you will attract only what you wish for". 
To simplify it ,I will try to explain first  the anatomical structure and functioning of the brain. The brain can be divided for the sake of understanding into its  physical structure,neurochemicals and  electrical impulses. I will try to briefly explain which part gets activated in  the above incident and then why it happened so.

All of us agree these high paced emotional turmoils are a common phenomenon in most of the  lives of people .The part of the brain responsible for firing of emotions is an almond shaped structure called amygdala which develops from two years of birth and is responsible for firing of the emotions .Another brain structure of importance in this scenario is the Nucleus Accumbens which is also known as the reward center and is the one responsible for feeling happy by activating the reward circuit. This was the center which was activated what  Rahul experienced in the morning and when Babita spoke to him. The Nucleus Accumbens is the one responsible for secreting dopamine which is the neurochemical responsible for happiness(positivity) and activates the reward circuit. 
Similarly when the amygdala gets fired when Rahul was angry .The brain releases the GABA  (gamma amino butyric acid) and serotonin which is a inhibitory neurochemical responsible for negative emotions. It gives us a negative aspect of the situation  and too much of GABA and reduced levels of serotonin  leads to depression.This forms the basis of pharmacological treatment of depresion.
The way our brain has been conditioned due to the genetic predisposition of our ancestors has resulted it in been naturally bias to negative inputs .However a word of caution ,these were necessary for survival. For example when we are walking in a dark forest and we come across some long twigs, this negative bias is responsible for our mind to think that there may be a snake which protects us from the coming danger. But the same pathway also gets active when we are stuck in traffic what we call in today's world as stress. Also these messages are quickly send along the neurons (wires in the brain through the synapses(gaps between neurons where a neurochemical is released. These impulses create an image in our mind which is our perception depending upon on what we believe on the given situation formed by these neurochemicals.

So coming to the law of attraction where like poles attract and opposite  repel. One explanation is given by discovery of Mirror neurons. Mirror neurons are created by an individual  by replicating the same circuit which is present in the opposite person as perceived by our special senses (eyes,ears,skin,smell) .What Rahul got irritated by constant honking or his wife got irritated by creating these mirror neurons  on seeing Rahul's irritation are examples how mirror neurons are formed. These can be explained when huge rallies by political speaker suddely lead to violence by inflammatory speeches used by them .The mechanism responsible is that the brain creates images in our mind  and these  are replicated in the opposite persons mind. The only thing to ponder is the speed with which the mind can create these mirror images.

The other explanation is given by the quantum theory of physics about electromagnetic effect of individual atom. Similarly, since each cell is made of atom having positive and negative charge they have a  field of electron around them .When driven by powerful emotions(highly charged emotions)  these circuits create the same or opposing  alignment in opposite person’s circuit which creates  a  response. Hence,Emotions are infectious and being positive  and having an optimist approach to lives are some of the solutions  given by elders and renowned psychologists  to the caretakers when dealing with a case of depression.

Another factor responsible is the part of the brain called OrbitoFrontal prefrontal  Cortex (OFC)l lobe also known as the social brain. Humans right from birth have a craving for social interactions starting from the smile and cuddling by the mother. Every human being craves for this basic need like food,water and shelter and is often under estimated as we become adults. In our desires to achieve success and pursuit for our goals we tend to overlook this basic need. Children who have a disturbed childhood tend to be emotionally disturbed as compared to the other kids. Although they have a desire for more affectionate relationships, the poor social skills learnt because of a disturbed childhood tends to create unstable relationships. Such kids create these mirror neurons right from the early age and are very difficult to overcome in adulthood.These are learned at a very tender age and form the basis of relationship in adulthood.
The world is moving today from what was a technological revolution to  an over driven and highly overworked socio emotional complex circuits in our brain. The basic understanding of the laws of attraction is the first step towards untangling  the complex and jumbled up brain pathways which is  leading to an  impulsive and over reactive society.



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