The man and the first tools

150,000 years ago there were Homo Sapiens very similar to us in Africa. However, they did not begin to dominate the world until about 70,000 years ago. Between 150,000 and 70,000 years ago, Homo Sapiens was just another animal that struggled to survive, a weak and clumsy animal, and not the animal that it is today, the dominant animal on planet Earth.

Between 70,000 and 30,000 years ago, Homo Sapiens started making cool things like boats, oil lamps, bows and arrows, and needles. These achievements are thought to have been the product of a revolution in the cognitive abilities of Sapiens. There are different theories of the cause of what is known as the cognitive revolution. Although it is interesting to investigate the causes of the cognitive revolution, it is also interesting to analyze its consequences.

The creation and use of tools by humans did not begin 70,000 years ago. The human being and his ancestors have been creating and using tools for millions of years. The first tools used by our human ancestors were stones, and this fact marked the beginning of what we know as the Stone Age. The Stone Age began approximately 3 million years ago and ended when metals were discovered and used. Stone tools were made by gradually grinding away stones to make hammers, spear and arrow points, knives, and scrapers.

The progress of the tools of the human being is evident, 3 million years ago we had stones and now we have rockets and spaceships. It seems that there is a correlation between the tools of man and the evolution of man. The evolution of the human produced tools and the production of tools made the human progress. The use of tools leverages us, amplifies our capabilities. The tools are what we currently call technology.

A scene from a movie that I find fascinating about the tools of man is from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. I am fascinated by the contrast it makes between bone, a primitive tool, and a spaceship, the pinnacle of human ingenuity. The change of scene between the bone and the spaceship symbolizes the millions of years of evolution of man and his tools.

In the world there are many animals that are far superior to us physically speaking. For example, we are not very fast running, we do not have claws, we cannot fly, we do not have a good sense of smell, we do not have protective armor, we are not very strong and our hairless skin is very delicate. In all the categories, we observe that there are animals that physically surpass us by far.

By nature, humans are not very fast, but we can make use of a tool called car to match or surpass the fastest animal in the world. Humans cannot fly, but we can use a tool called an airplane and we will fly higher and faster than any other animal. It is due to the use of tools that we can do more with less effort. Other animals make use of tools, but not in multiple ways like humans.

It is our tools, our technologies that give us power. If you look around, it will be impossible not to find something that is a tool. The very device you are reading this on is a tool.

The man loss the control of his tools

We currently live in the most technologically advanced age of humanity. We have tools that for our ancestors would have been the product of magic. But the mere fact of possessing moderately advanced technology does not guarantee that it will be used wisely.

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” — Arthur C. Clarke

The tools control the man

Today the world is full of tools of all kinds. However, some technologies are more widely used than others. The internet, computers and smartphones are examples of technologies that are highly used on a daily basis by a large number of people.

An example of a tool that seems to be controlling people more than you control the tool is social networks. The algorithms of social networks are designed so that people spend more time on them capturing their attention. If you’ve ever been on a social network and had a moment where you just keep scrolling down indefinitely, I’m afraid you’ve fallen victim to the algorithm and it has captured your attention. People don’t think “I’m going to spend 3 hours on this social network” it just happens because the algorithm is designed to capture their attention and thus spend more time on that social network. Social networks can also manipulate the thoughts of their users.

Social networks are just one example of how the tool can control the user more than the user controls the tool. I’m not saying that social networks are bad, I’m just saying that as tools we should control them and not the tools us. The tools are neutral, their use depends on what qualifies them as something bad or good.

Humans have always been better at inventing tools than using them wisely. — Yuval Noah Harari

Tools become autonomous

Today we can still push control over our tools. But, there may come a point in the history of humanity where we will no longer be able to push control over them, but they will be autonomous, they will control themselves.

One of the biggest goals in the field of Artificial Intelligence is to create an AGI (Artificial General Intelligence), that is, an AI with an intelligence equal to or greater than that of a human. Thinking about what could happen when an AI with these characteristics appears is very vague. We have no idea what would happen with such an AI. In fact, we still don’t even know when one might appear.

However, different AI experts have begun to think of ways in which we could make this type of AI align with our goals, share them and act according to them. I think that no matter how intelligent an AI is, it can continue to fulfill its role as a tool controlled by humans, it would be one of the greatest inventions of humanity. However, it is very vague in thinking what could happen with human-level AI that we cannot control.

I think that if we can continue to control our tools, no matter how advanced they are, we will do quite well.

Generally speaking, whether or not technology can be thought of as good or bad depends on how it is used. We human beings should not be slaves to technology or machines. We should be in charge. — Dalai Lama

Control your tools

We all use tools. And it is everyone’s responsibility to use them correctly. I think it’s quite important to question whether we use our tools correctly or incorrectly, or whether we use them judiciously. Ultimately, I believe that our tools, our technologies, should be used for the purpose of giving life the potential to flourish.