Memories create stories, stories create humanity

There are many parts of “unique humanness” Youth AI Future Institute is going to underscore and attempt to bolster. This is because for humans to collaborate with AI in a manner that maximizes each part’s capacities and in a non-detrimental way that preserves humanness in a civilization created by humans and a life with AI technologies invented by humans, hthe uman sector of coevolutionary development must be increasingly focused and refined on the human traits. These include abilities and roles requiring emotions, intuition, connection, and ethical or philosophical considerations. Not because these are what AI can never replicate (in fact, AIs are and will be able to imitate and constantly act such emotional traits comprehensively or even better than humans). Instead, these are tasks that, observed in a futurological, sociological lens, people prefer humans to be in charge of rather than a machine, and these are also tasks that can only stem from authenticity and real experience.

One very personally relevant and valuable, yet generally important trait that I believe is an archetype for what humans will dispositionally like and necessitate in a coexistence with synthetic machines is the ability and active, intentional pursuit of creating and synthesizing memories.

Memories are the essential Element for humanness, and it is a magically powerful asset that can shape people’s minds and actions entirely.

It can inspire, it can aid relational connections, memories made together can create bonds of love, motivate by e.g., remembering a time where you overcame a great adversity or a time where your hard work paid off, resulting in a triumph. It can also give you strength in emotionally and physically vulnerable times, which is crucial and conducive, as such vulnerabilities can occur for arguably every single human being at a certain point in time, regardless of one’s generation, social context, and surrounding environment.

And to extend the importance of memory further, these memories are what may possibly become stories that are retold to your own grandchildren or, if lucky, to the broader world to spark greatness and mark positive impact in others’ lives. By allowing the story to be inherited generationally.

Again, remember, memories build stories. And these stories are what is meaningfully human and, in my opinion, what humans were, in a philosophical and romantistic view, made and intended for. Not the achievement and not the stats that we humans tend to focus on. We, humans, are the only ones who are capable of creating such a story from scratch by ourselves. And the reason why I believe humans' purpose, is creating memories and stories, is because in this galactic space and universe, through a moment of implausibly magnificent beginning (e.g. through creation of microscopic organisms), a civilization once magically comes to existence and grows and when they depart this life and universe they become extinct. Indeed, they no longer exist, yet what does remain for eternity are the stories, remarks, and achievements that civilization created.

Whether it is about figuring out how to explain the universe in a language we created from scratch called mathematics and science, making cultural tribes and unions, judicial, legal, and moral norms that establish order, having created regularly recurring stories such as celebrating new years with fireworks, and playing sports games where a world reunites every 4 years, or reaching the moon, it is stories that aliens in the far future will discover about the civilization of mankind.

And, interestingly, this contextualization of human civilization also gives us an incidental mental comfort that explains the inevitable mortality of our kind, and allows us to focus on living a small, yet meaningful component of that mankind's story in the present to the fullest so that we won't regret when we pass away (or when our initial time on earth ends before entering a divine dimension).

Anyways, if you scrutinize the common contemporary human/social behavior, you recognize how humans ironically act more like machines. Like machines in terms of us fulfilling the moral purpose of machines, which is to improve stats and productivity, and quantitatively expressed results.

However, we know that greatness and inspiration is inherited and remembered as journeys and stories. Just to name some, the Bible was, Arthurian legends were, Kobe Bryant's work ethic stories were, and Steve Jobs’ innovative stories were.

Exactly this will be something an AI can't have and achieve: A story based on one’s own memory, caused by a human consciousness of experiences.

Something we will have to pursue while AI supports and focuses on enhancing the overall stats and quantitative results of the world.

And yes, this was written on my smartphone note taker while running at night along my urban town with my father listening to the newly released F1 movie’s soundtrack. And I will for sure save this moment as a written-down memory that I will never forget and that will become a beautiful, inspiring part of the story of my family and me.

July 2nd, 2025