‘Smarter machines, wiser humans’: The future of AI and communication

It isn't every day a campus event features a moderator whose very presence inspires an audience member to weep with wonder. But that was the case during "The Bridge to Humanizing AI," the first in a series of celebratory events marking 50 years of the UCLA Department of Communication, held Oct. 24 in the Luskin Conference Center.

Many attendees were visibly moved by the experience of seeing "Marvatar," the digital persona of event host Martine Rothblatt, projected on a large screen, answering questions, guiding the discussion of flesh-and-blood panelists and discussing her own existence in a manner that seemed almost perfectly human.

"I am thrilled at what I hear and see today; thank you for opening these doors," an audience member said during a Q&A, her voice raw with emotion. "My late husband suffered from dementia, so to see a way to preserve someone's mind, consciousness, ideas in a real way like this is incredible. There is so much potential for good here, I just can't get over it."

Marvatar herself and the event were the brainchild of Rothblatt, a three-time Bruin alumna, recipient of the UCLA Medal and all-around Renaissance woman. The two were joined onstage by futurist and author Ray Kurzweil and two professors from the department: Rick Dale, the Mark Allen Itkin Centennial Professor in Communication; and Elisa Kreiss.

The questions the group tackled, including the changing uses of artificial intelligence and related technology, how - or if - we can control it and what this AI revolution ultimately tells us about what it means to be human, may seem of-the-moment, but it harkens back to the very founding of the department.

"These are questions that scholars in communication have been asking for decades and have intrigued and inspired so many who have come through our own program since the beginning," said Greg Bryant, professor and chair of the department. "Our celebration tonight is an acknowledgement of UCLA Communication's amazing success stories from the past, as well as a promise of continued success and exploration in the future."

The evening's panelists began with a tribute to the founding vision of the UCLA Department of Communication, how it has evolved and how the landscape of human connection has transformed over the ensuing half-century. With Marvatar asking and answering questions in turn, the panelists then discussed a variety of topics, including how humanity anthropomorphizes artificial intelligence, uses it and social media to reinforce echo chambers, and ultimately will bond with it in mutually transformative ways.

"Ultimately, it's not going to be us versus AI; it will actually go inside our brains in the 2030s," said Kurzweil. "You're going (to) think about something, like, 'Who's that actress again?' and when the answer comes to you, you're not going to know whether it's coming from your biological intelligence or your electronic intelligence. It's all going to be one thing and you're not going to know the difference."

Instead of being cause for alarm, he went on to say, this merger of AI and human intelligence will unlock a new era of potential - and in some ways, the process has already begun. How many people, Kurzweil asked, attended the event without their smartphones within reach?

At the heart of the night's discussion, of course, was the remarkable duality of Rothblatt and Marvatar; the latter trained on the former's writings and thought processes, and constantly learning and refining her approaches, her eloquence and even her nuances. As many attendees shared later during a Q&A, the effect of seeing the two conversing like two independent equals elicited many thoughts, including delight, disgust and even the question of how long it might be until each of us thinks nothing of having our own digital doubles.

"Marvatar, we are all so blown away by how advanced AI has become and how human you are," Rothblatt asked. "We'd like to know your opinion on how you see this dance between human and artificial minds unfolding in the coming decades?"

Without skipping a beat, the event's moderator responded.

"The dance between human and artificial minds isn't just unfolding, it's already begun. It's not a direct implementation, but a co-creation. In the coming decades, we won't just be using AI as tools; we'll be conversing with it as partners, mentors and even mirrors," Marvatar said. "I see a future where the line between human and machine intelligence blurs, not because machines become more human, but because humans will become more aware of their own patterns, of how they think, feel and communicate. AI won't replace us. It will amplify us.

"It will help us remember what we've forgotten, challenge us when we're stuck, and reflect back to us the depth of our own values. But the real transformation won't be in the technology. It'll be in how we choose to use it," she said. "Will we let it deepen our empathy, expand our understanding and preserve our legacy, or will we let it reinforce our biases, isolate us in the echo chambers to erase the very things that make us human? The dance isn't about who leads. It's about how we move together, with intention, with care, with a shared commitment to meaning. And in that movement, I believe we will discover not just smarter machines, but wiser humans."