Interesting essay that reminds me of some thinking I've been doing lately about what it means to build in this age, and what we choose to do with the power we now have. I think the question is less about "should" we create god, and more about the end goal, the reason for creating god. If the motives aren't aligned now for a general wellbeing / flourishing, any superintelligence created will exist to serve the selfish goals of a select few, leaving everyone else to be lackeys at their mercy.
It's not all doom and gloom, though. The first step is awareness, which makes us consciously decide what we want to create, why, who it's for, and the impact it should have.
100%! Which is why the AI moment right now feels to me more like a wrestle for the kinds of ‘motives’ that’ll anchor whatever superintelligence we create. Cos once it’s not aligned with humanity’s end goal, we’ve lost.
My favourite part of reading this was the refresher on the importance of humanity in the thought-action gap. It’s deeply fascinating that that’s now a debatable topic.
At first glance at the title, first thing that came to mind was the quote "history isn't kind to those who play God"
Afterwards, the philosophical question emerged - "is God Fair?" That question is impossible to answer because God is God because they can't be questioned. Their decision must be assumed to always be right. So our belief in the righteous intent of God makes God, God. Furthermore, our belief in the goodness of the intent of God is primarily because we know not who influences God, and we believe that good is the the sole interest of God.
When we juxtapose it with A.I or superintelligent computers, then God becomes demystified. The fact that we can question and correct these computer results breaks the notion of it's Godliness. Especially since God is dependent of its mystery, (the Christian Bible say "His ways are not our ways")
Also we know these A.I are fueled by big companies even though they write their charters to do good, they still serve the interest of the shareholders and investors (who's primary interest is to maximize profit) - so the A.I's intent (or action) can be influenced. So thought and action, become biased. E.g God might have said let there be light, because it was good for creation, but it might also be because a competition has started selling bulbs in a far Universe, and it may affect market share in this universe (a ridiculous example but you get the gist).
To zero thought and action and I dare say time - will be closeness to God, but at the end of the day actions and decisions these A.I will carry out may be at best, Utilitarian, but God (at least the example of the Christian God) has a track record of being neither this or that, but the belief in its goodness is still maintained.
I enjoyed reading this article, Arinze, it reminded so much of the story of Icarus, it reminded of Foundation on apple T.V and plenty others. Technology can be both hope and doom( a role God has taken in most religions) Thank you for the wonderful piece of thought. I wonder if we will live long enough to see the full impact of your questions answered.
Oouu, you raise a very delicious point. So long as the creation of “god” exists within a capitalist framework, the incentives of the companies building these AIs will always muddy the motives of the AI itself, reducing decisions that affect humans to an optimization calculus. And tbh this is why “humans in the loop” matter cos, beyond their functional role as quality control, they also serve as a kind of conscience in the system. Thanks a lot for reading!
Interesting essay that reminds me of some thinking I've been doing lately about what it means to build in this age, and what we choose to do with the power we now have. I think the question is less about "should" we create god, and more about the end goal, the reason for creating god. If the motives aren't aligned now for a general wellbeing / flourishing, any superintelligence created will exist to serve the selfish goals of a select few, leaving everyone else to be lackeys at their mercy.
It's not all doom and gloom, though. The first step is awareness, which makes us consciously decide what we want to create, why, who it's for, and the impact it should have.
Well done Arinze!
100%! Which is why the AI moment right now feels to me more like a wrestle for the kinds of ‘motives’ that’ll anchor whatever superintelligence we create. Cos once it’s not aligned with humanity’s end goal, we’ve lost.
My favourite part of reading this was the refresher on the importance of humanity in the thought-action gap. It’s deeply fascinating that that’s now a debatable topic.
Loved reading this, thank you for writing it!
You get! Like, it's crazy that we're at such a point where that's even an argument. And thank you!
At first glance at the title, first thing that came to mind was the quote "history isn't kind to those who play God"
Afterwards, the philosophical question emerged - "is God Fair?" That question is impossible to answer because God is God because they can't be questioned. Their decision must be assumed to always be right. So our belief in the righteous intent of God makes God, God. Furthermore, our belief in the goodness of the intent of God is primarily because we know not who influences God, and we believe that good is the the sole interest of God.
When we juxtapose it with A.I or superintelligent computers, then God becomes demystified. The fact that we can question and correct these computer results breaks the notion of it's Godliness. Especially since God is dependent of its mystery, (the Christian Bible say "His ways are not our ways")
Also we know these A.I are fueled by big companies even though they write their charters to do good, they still serve the interest of the shareholders and investors (who's primary interest is to maximize profit) - so the A.I's intent (or action) can be influenced. So thought and action, become biased. E.g God might have said let there be light, because it was good for creation, but it might also be because a competition has started selling bulbs in a far Universe, and it may affect market share in this universe (a ridiculous example but you get the gist).
To zero thought and action and I dare say time - will be closeness to God, but at the end of the day actions and decisions these A.I will carry out may be at best, Utilitarian, but God (at least the example of the Christian God) has a track record of being neither this or that, but the belief in its goodness is still maintained.
I enjoyed reading this article, Arinze, it reminded so much of the story of Icarus, it reminded of Foundation on apple T.V and plenty others. Technology can be both hope and doom( a role God has taken in most religions) Thank you for the wonderful piece of thought. I wonder if we will live long enough to see the full impact of your questions answered.
Oouu, you raise a very delicious point. So long as the creation of “god” exists within a capitalist framework, the incentives of the companies building these AIs will always muddy the motives of the AI itself, reducing decisions that affect humans to an optimization calculus. And tbh this is why “humans in the loop” matter cos, beyond their functional role as quality control, they also serve as a kind of conscience in the system. Thanks a lot for reading!