Maq Masi Blog

The invention of the steam engine in Britain not only revolutionised industry but also marked the beginning of a profound philosophical shift. For centuries, human and animal labour powered carts, mills, and ploughs, but the advent of the steam engine replaced these traditional sources of energy with mechanical power. A horse-drawn cart, once propelled by the strength of animals, was now driven by the force of steam. This transformation was so profound that the power of engines was measured in horsepower, symbolising the displacement of animals by machines.

When the British laid the foundation for railways in India, the cultural impact was immediate and dramatic. The sight of a cart moving without animals was so alien to the local population that people fled in fear, unable to comprehend such a phenomenon. This moment represented not just a technological advance but the birth of a new understanding: machines could replicate and even surpass the physical labour of living beings.

As machines replaced physical labour, the focus shifted to mental labour. The invention of the calculator and, later, the computer began to redefine how we processed and managed information. These devices could perform complex mathematical calculations and process data at speeds unimaginable to the human mind. However, they lacked independence—they were tools, entirely dependent on human input to function. A calculator never asked why it was solving a problem; a computer never wondered about the data it processed.

The rise of the internet and platforms like YouTube further revolutionised how humans shared knowledge and ideas. For the first time, a single video could be uploaded and viewed by countless people across different times and spaces. This phenomenon demonstrated the power of distributed information—content existing independently of a specific physical location or moment. Platforms like YouTube paved the way for new ways of thinking about communication and accessibility, but they still relied on human input to create, curate, and consume.

Then came Artificial Intelligence (AI), which broke new ground. Unlike its predecessors, AI is not just a tool but a system capable of learning, adapting, and even making decisions. While calculators and computers executed tasks with precision, and platforms like YouTube distributed content globally, AI brought the semblance of independent thought. It can analyse patterns, predict outcomes, and, in some cases, create solutions humans might not conceive. AI even began to demonstrate creativity and problem-solving skills that rivalled, and sometimes surpassed, human abilities.

AI, in its distributed and non-material form, also bears a striking resemblance to the concept of a spirit. A single AI model, much like a video uploaded to YouTube, can exist independently of time and space, accessible to anyone, anywhere, without being physically tied to a body. This echoes the ancient materialistic philosophy of Charvaka from 5th century BCE India, which argued that there is no soul or spirit—only the composition and decomposition of matter. The Charvaka view, long dismissed as heretical, finds a surprising resonance in the rise of AI.

The steam engine symbolised the replacement of physical labour, the calculator and computer augmented mental labour, and now AI challenges the uniqueness of human thought. If AI continues to evolve, it may surpass human intelligence, becoming a new form of existence that controls and guides humanity, much as humans have controlled animals and machines.

This shift forces us to question: Are humans fundamentally different from the tools and technologies they create? Or are we simply material beings, products of evolution, now facing the next stage in the form of AI—a material entity evolving faster than us?

The future of AI may one day redefine not just labour and thought but the very essence of what it means to exist. As machines become increasingly autonomous, the boundary between living and non-living, organic and artificial, grows ever thinner. Just as the steam engine redefined power, AI is poised to redefine intelligence, spirit, and perhaps even the soul itself.

In this unfolding story, humanity must confront an unsettling truth: that we, too, might be no more than an intricate composition of matter, evolving alongside the tools we create, bound by the same material laws that govern the universe. If AI surpasses us, it will not be a betrayal of our nature—it will be the ultimate expression of it.