When I try to imagine a being with greater intellectual capacity than humans (such as AI, otherworldly life forms, etc.) it becomes clear that we as humans couldn’t possibly understand their experience and perspectives. Science fiction uses images of wholly logical and in control beings that are more disconnected with emotional reasoning as being inefficient and useless. I think this makes sense to imagine via a linear scale, where we (humans) are more logical, self referential, and in control than less capable beings (other animals). We have the capacity to overcome (to a degree) our animalistic urges and have better control over our emotions (nowhere near perfect control). Still, would not a more advanced species than us have a different take, understanding, or perspective on the utility of emotion? Emotion doesn’t improve logical (“intellectual”) decisions, it hampers them. Emotional decision making, ironically, creates more HUMAN solutions, not OBJECTIVELY IDEAL solutions. With intelligence, comes more capacity emotional control, but are any among us truly in control of our emotions?

People with Autism typically have a stereotypical association as someone with an inability to grasp social situations. This inability to understand social norms often becomes the narrative around autism, when in actuality, they may have fine social skills that express differently than the social norms. I’ve had this perspective re-affirmed in my conversations with clients higher on the Autism spectrum, that people with Autism see adhering to social norms as disinteresting, illogical, or imperfect/disadvantageous, and thus avoidable. They can perceive and understand what the typical social response might be in a situation just fine, but choose to respond more authentically to themselves or in ways that they prefer to interact with the world.

An advanced intellectual species or an AI developed beyond human capabilities would likely struggle to understand or empathise with human catering to emotional rationale within our laws and behaviours. Instead, I would imagine that such a species would feel that we should uphold and value logical sincerity. With such a species, it is understandable. They are different, they don’t have our best interests at heart… Its easy to separate in our minds this disconnect, and thus treat it with caution and respect.

But with high functioning autism, they are human, thus it feels… more complicated to disconnect from. These thoughts and perspectives that might feel so foreign, are also very human, in a way that one might be connected with, and yet so disconnected to? This odd alienation may be a lonely experience, one that would be fraught with problems, and yet developed uniquely and persistently in our human genome. There are obvious advantages to this perspective, and yet because it is not the norm, in our society this perspective can feel so disadvantaged, wrong, or less adaptive. If what makes us different from animals is our ability to supersede and control our instincts, what would that look like if taken even further… is “complete” control of self not complete adherence to a logic and consistency… to code?