It can often be surprising to read some older authors and find hints suggesting they knew what was coming down the industrial pipeline. John Stuart Mill (1806-1873), a British essayist and philosopher writing in the 19th century, seemed to have read the playbook of the 21st century, at least when it comes to technological progress and how we tend to see ourselves as human beings living in a mechanistic, technological culture. In Chapter III of his famous essay “On Liberty,” Mill is commenting on the importance of directing one’s own path instead of simply letting the world dictate your choices and outlook on life. A full life means refusing simply to imitate the crowd and engage with the range of human faculties that help us grow up. Mill writes,

He who chooses to plan for himself employs all his faculties. He must use observation to see, reasoning and judgment to foresee, activity to gather materials for decision, discrimination to decide, and when he has decided, firmness and self-control to hold to his deliberate decision.

Making rational decisions takes a lot of thought and hard work, says Mill. It’s much easier to default to an authority (or a computer!) to do all that tough lifting for us. He then comments on human nature and the question of whether it can be automated or duly transferred to machines. Mill writes:

It is possible that he might be guided in some good path, and kept out of harm’s way, without any of these things. But what will be his comparative worth as a human being? It really is of importance, not only what men do, but also what manner of men they are that do it…Human nature is not a machine to be built after a model, and set to do exactly the work prescribed for it, but a tree, which requires to grow and develop itself on all sides, according to the tendency of the inward forces which make it a living thing.

A Tree to be Watered

Mill uses a beautiful contrast in metaphor to show how human nature is qualitatively different from machines. Although of course Mill didn’t live in the AI age of neural networks and advanced robotics, his point remains as relevant as ever. If we think of humans as complex machines who just need the right inputs to function, we forget about the host of other “faculties” that set us apart from computers. Those things like creativity, free will, and the capacity for understanding and spiritual growth all go disregarded.

Just like the pianist must practice to become excellent at playing Chopin, or the athlete has to shoot so many baskets a day to play well in the game, so do human have to practice virtue, decision making, and being in relationship with others. Machines don’t have to worry about discerning things, growing up, and becoming better people over time. We, however, have the challenging gift of learning how to be human.