Essay – The process of self-discovery has now been technologically outsourced
The concept of self-discovery can be traced in the majority of religious philosophies of India. The essence of Hinduism is spirituality and a philosophical framework concerning the exploration of self as documented in the Upanishads. In Buddhism, the term ‘Bodhisattva’ refers to the attainment of self-reality through the process of self-awakening. The process of self-discovery was theorized by the American Psychologist Abraham H. Maslow in his Theory of Self-Actualization. The theory stated human growth is linear in process and culminates with the realization of an individual’s potential in totality.
Discussion
Advancement in technology in the form of Artificial Intelligence in contemporary time has become an external source of self-discovery replacing the former internal process of self-discovery through introspection and questioning carried out proactively in solitude.
Introspection or self-questioning is the process of is integral part associated with seeking answers to questions about oneself. The advent of technology and its gradual modification over the years has made the answer-seeking process.
Artificial Intelligence, a term coined by John McCarthy in 1950 is a testament to technological advancements. Artificial intelligence works through complex algorithms to learn individuals’ interests and preferences thereby gauging their personality types.
Artificial Intelligence replicates the answer-seeking process characteristic of self-discovery to interpret personality types, their preferences and the answer to their ultimate question ‘Who am I ?’ For instance, commercial websites like Amazon use cookies to cater for a hassle-free shopping experience on its website. It seeks permission to save passwords and past purchases to anticipate the choice of brands of clothes such as Nike and Adidas thereby facilitating individuals to realize their own tastes. Besides interpreting oneself, Artificial Intelligence also moulds one’s self-identity by showing products that are similar to the taste of clothing revealed through past purchases.
In addition to commercial websites, modern matchmaking applications such as Tinder uses similar techniques of discovery of one’s identity. Tinder interprets the type of personality that an individual is looking for in a person he wants to meet. Tinder acquires data of preferences through questions called ‘vibes’ and people with similar vibes or likes are matched on the application.
Self-discovery can be technologically facilitated in the sense that the onus of questioning oneself is voluntarily given to artificial intelligence replacing the internal proactive method of introspection. In contemporary times individuals are voluntarily feeding AI with their traits and allowing it to study facets of their personality. As such AI is permitted to shape and influence individuals to understand their own selves.
Conclusion
The concept of self-discovery is as old as human civilization itself. The exploration of the ideal self from the real self has been a subject of debate in various fields such as philosophy, psychology and natural sciences. Self-discovery is a continuous process that does not have any ultimate solution. Bereft of any particular answer to the question ‘ Who am I?’ technology has emerged as the latest domain in the process of self-exploration. The role played by Artificial Intelligence in self-exploration has brought about a paradigm shift in the process of self-discovery.
FAQs
Q1. How is self-actualization related to self-discovery?
Ans: The process of self-discovery was theorized by the American Psychologist Abraham H. Maslow in his Theory of Self-Actualization. The theory stated human growth is linear in process and culminates with the realization of an individual’s potential in totality.
Q2. How does Artificial Intelligence facilitate self-discovery?
Ans: Artificial intelligence works through complex algorithms to learn individuals’ interests and preferences thereby gauging their personality types.
Artificial Intelligence replicates the answer-seeking process characteristic of self-discovery to interpret personality types, their preferences and the answer to their ultimate question ‘Who am I?
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