The Bible Warns about AI?
I think..
I want you to take this seriously. When the atomic bomb was being developed, people genuinely were worried beyond wit’s end, that the end of the world was imminent. Not just everyday citizens who digested fear mongering media, but the very scientists and engineers who created the technology. It’s probably for this reason that a significant wave of fear swept the world. Even if you didn’t read the news paper or for whatever reason were not informed, chances are you likely had a friend, neighbor or family member who was afraid and that would stoke fear in you too. Thankfully, that fear subsided as decades continued, but it never completely went away. Notice how many nations really do not want Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. In many ways, I am sure most humans would say they wish nuclear weapons weren’t owned by anyone…or at least that no one would need to. But here we are…
I think the most prevalent (and serious) existential threat, even beyond the potential catastrophe that could come from current warfare, is artificial intelligence. I see little point in addressing all the potential outcomes of AI, since it’s quite easy to imagine all sorts of ways in which it could mean our demise. Or at least, pose a substantially significant risk. I think you can do that yourself already - but please consider how detrimental it might be to the human soul. Right now, AI has effectively taken over the entire catalog of YouTube shorts. There’s very good reason to suspect that much of the views garnered by AI slop is also AI. The comment section, messages, etc. How do we exist in that sort of world? One where you are talking to people online, but have plenty good reason to believe that none of those people are actually people. If you haven’t already pondered this possibility, let me be the first to tell you that it’s already been happening. There’s lots of examples of people having conversations and even full blown arguments with AI bots, obliviously. Neglecting all the jobs which require mundane human intelligence being replaced by AI, there is also the risk of the most gifted of artists being out of work. Maybe without meaning, if an AI can do something they once could, but far better and more consistently. If all our movies, shows, books, music etc. is produced by AI…is it really art? Maybe it could be emblematic but I don’t think it would encompass the human soul, even if it was indiscernable to the human eye. But that’s all before worrying about AI deciding it doesn’t need us anymore. And the people who have created the best of the best of models, seem to share this eerie concern…
So where does the Bible come into all of this? For a few years I’ve considered the cultural impact the Bible has had on us from a secular perspective, particularly but not limited to the West. As a fundamentalist Christian, the value in the Bible is interpreted through a literal understanding of what is written, including the most fantastic stories about talking animals, 6 day creation and a 40 day global flood. But for others, it’s not so literal. In some ways, it’s similar to Greek mythology, like Pandora’s Box (which was more accurately described as a jar, fun fact). Most of us know this story of Pandora, created by Zeus, who was given a sealed jar among other gifts. She’s told to never open it, but unable to resist the temptation from curiosity, she opens the jar which released all evils of humanity into existence. Suffering, death, hate, sickness, pain, etc. Having been opened, it was impossible to reseal them. The only thing that remained in the jar, was hope.
I’m sure I am not the first to consider that the development of AI echoes the subtextual message of Pandora’s box. The man widely regarded as the godfather of AI, Geoffrey Hinton has implied that it’s too late to slow down its development, and it’s unlikely that it will be “stopped” despite the existential dangers, because of how useful and profitable it is. In this way, it reminds me a lot of Pandora’s Box…but it also gave me some more profound ruminations. Similar to Pandora, in the Book of Genesis, the first humans are given a gift in the garden, but it has its restrictions. They are not to eat from the fruit from a special tree; The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. That’s interesting isn’t it? God creates something which he allows them to admire, but never consume. It’s only through temptation, similar to Pandora, that Eve decides to indulge in this fruit. And having tasted that, it’s too much to resist for Adam as well. And the consequence? Death, suffering, pain, sickness, and all the other evils of the world. Once having peaceful eternal life, now have deathly consequences.
If we analogize this to AI, then we have already taken from the tree. We have already opened Pandora’s box, or the more accurately translated jar :p
But…the Bible does not end there. Despite Adam & Eve screwing over the rest of us, they went on to multiply. And although there’s some dicey stuff in the middle, humans went on to have fulfilling lives and meaning. It provides lessons and values to abide by, suggesting that is the secret to ever lasting life. What if the book of Genesis was not necessarily, or at least not exclusively, a historical account so much as it was an artistic depiction of what is to come. A warning. Seems this lesson is as old as time, to be careful with temptation for power, of deception and in some contexts, disobedience. It’s as though the authors of Genesis knew the nature of human kind; they knew that humans cannot be trusted on their own to abstain from - often lethal - temptations. And of course, we can do our best to rationalize against these things. But it’s not always as simple as picking a salad over a burger, and even that is basically impossible for some of us. Sometimes it’s something as significant as nukes, or AI. And if AI does mean our chances of extinction are more likely once again, how do we navigate through this psychologically?
Maybe this was the point of the Bible. Maybe they knew that humans on their own are doomed to always repeat past mistakes, to let desires of flesh supersede the greater good. But if people believe in a higher power through religion, which they valued above themselves or even their own family, then as long as this worldview commanded that they love and cherish their fellow human beings…the world might not be so bad.
I don’t mean to say that whoever wrote the Bible had a premonition about AI, or even some specific dooming technology, but I do think they had some powerful insight into the human consciousness. Not perfect, not without some serious flaws but I think its persistence for this long demonstrates some aspect of utility, at least. So out of respect I want to borrow from some Christian thought once more, that comes from the author which created some of my favorite stories.
“If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds.”
C.S. Lewis
This quote came across my Substack feed as I was horribly depressed by the news, the insights from AI experts and my own cynical premonitions. And somehow I have been given hope. There is some nobility in acknowledging the perils we face, and make no mistake, this is some serious shit, you guys. But even so, I sense some truth in maintaining an element of faith, just as we all do in our lives every day. I don’t know for certain that I’ll make it home today but it’d be silly to just expect that I won’t. There’s plenty good reason in that regard, to have faith that when I get in my car, the engine will start, and I will arrive home in time.
That quote from C.S. Lewis reminded me to press on, and nudged me ever so slightly out of my depression. Sometimes, a smile to a stranger can do that. A compliment to their clothes or attractiveness can do that. A comforting message to a friend. A hug, or a gift. This is a way that I can be happy, even in times of peril. For one thing, as scary as the world is, you’re tougher than you think you are. And maybe you can’t do anything on your own to change the world, to save us all from extinction - I don’t know. But I do know, that through even the smallest things, you might be that sense of comfort to someone else who can.
As Gandalf once said:
Please do consider sharing with me what you do to handle these sort of dreadful feelings. Or do you not relate much to what I have shared?