From a philosophical perspective, artificial intelligence began developing a very long time ago
The creation of artificial intelligence didn’t begin in Silicon Valley, but on the African plains millions of years ago. Stone tools, fire mastered by humans, and human speech all became part of this chain that led us to programming languages and neural networks. Scientists say that thinking and technology developed together and pushed each other forward. And this is worth discussing in more detail.
We’re used to thinking that technological progress is something new, related to electronics. But if you look at the deep past of the species Homo sapiens, you’ll discover a remarkable pattern. The ability to create tools, speak, and accumulate culture developed as a single, interconnected system. And it was precisely this system that ultimately made the emergence of computers and AI possible. All of this was discussed by the authors at ZME Science.
When Humans Learned to Speak
The ability to speak is what allows us to exchange information. And what’s particularly interesting is that the structure of the human vocal apparatus adapted for complex speech much earlier than is commonly believed.
The ability to produce sounds, especially in a wide range, is linked to a low larynx position, an enlarged pharynx, and a flexible tongue in a spacious oral cavity. These features were already present in humans by the time Homo erectus appeared in Africa nearly 2 million years ago.
A key role here is played by the tiny hyoid bone, a floating support for the muscles that control the tongue, larynx, and throat. Scientists studied the hyoid bones of Neanderthals and discovered that they are nearly identical to those of modern humans. This means that Neanderthals most likely could produce an equally complex set of sounds as we can. Moreover, findings from Spain show that the modern form of the hyoid bone existed at least 530,000 years ago.
What Made Humans Learn to Speak
About 2.6 million years ago, hominins began making stone tools, and over time, simple forms gave way to more complex ones. To craft such a tool, one needs manual dexterity and the ability to pass the skill on to another person.
When scientists observed the brain activity of people replicating the process of making ancient tools, it turned out that the same brain regions are activated as when working with language. It turns out that learning to make tools and speech rely on similar processes in the human brain. Transmitting a complex skill without communication is impossible, and it was likely this necessity that drove the development of speech.
People invented new things and knowledge needed to be passed on to others — this is what developed our language
How Fire and Meat Changed Ancient Humans
Having mastered new technologies, our distant ancestors gained access to better cuts of meat and organs — rich food for a growing brain. As a result, ancient humans began actively reproducing and gathering in larger groups.
After inventing tools, humans mastered fire. Subsequently, ancient people settled new lands within Africa and beyond its borders, using rapidly developing technologies to cope with new challenges. Brain growth was linked to tool-making, the increasing complexity of society pushed the development of communication, and culture helped knowledge accumulate and be passed on further.
The logic is elegant: language initially developed as a survival tool for transmitting technical skills, and only later became a means for establishing social connections.
How Human Language Developed
As populations grew and territories expanded, communication between people became more complex. Ancient societies created early writing systems based on symbolic signs. Writing emerged independently in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Central America, and China, gradually evolving from pictures to script.
And then came the leap that we are experiencing right now. Today, ideas travel instantly across the internet. Digital platforms make information accessible worldwide, shrinking distances. Interestingly, we have learned to transfer incredibly complex digital languages, inaccessible to the human mind, into computer systems capable of processing and transmitting information with a single click.
But this coin has a flip side. Despite the complexity of the systems that transmit our thoughts, we are shifting toward simpler forms of communication — simplifying language and adapting our thinking to digital platforms. Words like FOBO, delulu, and skuf have appeared in our language.
The Merger of Humans and Artificial Intelligence
Technology has always helped humans think, communicate, and pass on knowledge. First it was stone tools, then fire, speech, writing, books, computers, and the internet. Each new invention didn’t appear out of nowhere but continued what had begun millions of years ago.
Now we’ve reached a new stage. According to some researchers, the merger of humans and artificial intelligence has already begun. Of course, this doesn’t mean that people are massively turning into cyborgs with wires in their heads. It’s much more down-to-earth: we increasingly think, work, search for information, and make decisions with the help of digital tools. Using neural networks, we even try to solve relationship problems, but only make things worse.
Today, it’s no longer enough for a person to simply know how to speak and write. You need to know how to properly ask questions to a search engine, use neural networks, distinguish truth from junk on the internet, and quickly convey thoughts through digital platforms. Essentially, communicating with technology is becoming just as important a skill as the ability to explain to another person how to make a stone knife or start a fire once was.
Technology is getting ever closer to human thinking. Recently, for example, AI was taught to read human thoughts. It’s not telepathy from science fiction yet, but the direction is clear: machines are getting better at understanding speech, images, emotions, behavior, and even brain signals.
It’s important to understand that this is not a strictly proven law, but rather a scientific-philosophical perspective on human history. But many facts align well with it. Ancient humans indeed showed early signs of complex speech, tool-making is linked to the same brain regions as language, and culture helped knowledge accumulate and be passed on further.
Therefore, when we look at modern AI, we see yet another stage of an old process: humans have once again created a tool that changes their thinking, behavior, and way of communicating. Once, that tool was a stone knife. Now it’s a neural network. The only question is where this tool will take us next.
