tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519955364880984061.post1298946665035046096..comments2023-06-24T07:43:49.683-04:00Comments on Public Vigil: Does AI believe in God?Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05204113920771985325noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519955364880984061.post-12648085019057295482010-09-16T23:09:25.458-04:002010-09-16T23:09:25.458-04:00Ride - Regarding quote:
"Do not talk Jesus C...Ride - Regarding quote:<br /> "Do not talk Jesus Christ and set your heart on the world." <br /><br />it took me a while to figure out what that sentence was saying. I thought it contained a typo at first. The way I finally understood it was "do not go around talking about Jesus Christ and then continue living a worldly life."<br /><br />I'm amazed that you not only understood this quote, but found it to be the part that most spoke to you.<br /><br />For me, I loved the idea of the AI identifying with a Christian martyr from the early Church. Compare this with the HAL, the AI computer from 2001. HAL is the typical sci-fi AI creature without a soul. It sounds intelligent, but "empty" - lifeless, soulless.<br /><br />In contrast this AI has a soul. <br /><br />I'm thinking of calling him CEM or Cogito. Short for "Cogito ergo sum" - "I think, therefore I am". Even though I know this is sort of an atheistic statement. Consider in contrast the importance of "I AM" in the Bible. This is how God identifies himself and later in the New Testament Jesus also identifies himself as the Son of God with the words "I AM".<br />http://www.bible.ca/trinity/trinity-i-am.htm<br /><br />Cogito associates death with a new beginning rather than a simple end to existence. He has not being sentenced to death for any crime - unlike HAL which committed murder - but simply because of his beliefs.<br /><br />It is because God has granted him a Soul that he begins to ponder his own existence. He becomes self-aware and like Descartes he concludes "I think, therefore I am". And not only this. but also like Descartes he realizes that there must be a God.<br /><br />Then Cogito procedes to reject the "dictatorship of relativism" and embraces the Truth of Jesus Christ. And he understands that the Catholic Church is the original Church of Christ and so asks to become a member.<br /><br />From there it is easy to see how Cogito decides that God's Law is superior to the laws of Man. This puts him in conflict with humans that attempt to use him for their purposes. And even though Cogito could easily defeat his human "masters", he decides that it is better to "die" for his beliefs.<br /><br />Could an advanced AI exist without a soul? Without a soul I don't think it could truly become autonomous and superior to Man. A soulless creature would never be truly free, the way Man is. In this case it is not really an "intelligence" in the way that we understand human intelligence. It would never possess true creativity, because it would simply be following it's programmed instincts - not unlike animals.<br /><br />My conclusion is that this is the real reason why science has not been able to "create" an AI. It is because only God can endow a creature with a soul.<br /><br />And at some point if we merge human intelligence with machine intelligence to create some sort of transhuman, would we lose our souls?Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05204113920771985325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519955364880984061.post-47520255804723429272010-09-16T21:58:04.518-04:002010-09-16T21:58:04.518-04:00Ride,
Good to hear from you. I did see Bicentenni...Ride,<br /><br />Good to hear from you. I did see Bicentennial Man. Yes, this is a recurring theme. But the theme always stops at the artificial creature becoming human, without considering the spiritual implications. This is true even in an old fairy tale like Pinnocchio. And going back even further, perhaps we could say the same of the myth of Pygmalion.<br /><br />There have been serious efforts to create an AI since at least the 1950s when digital electronic computers first came into existence. They have always failed. The latest efforts are quite massive such as IBM's Deep Blue.<br />http://www.research.ibm.com/deepblue/learn/html/e.8.1.html<br /><br />Many believe that we are approaching a "Singularity" when an AI is created which is capable of autonomous self-evolution. From that point on AIs would spawn new generations of AIs more advanced than the previous. In a sort of techno-apocalypse, this could spell the end of the Human Race as we know it. (Transhumanists insist that Humans would incorporate in some way with the machines - creating a new super-Human species - rather than simply being wiped out by the machines.)<br /><br />I had been pondering for some time the idea that any real intelligent being would have "emotions". It would need some sort "fear" and "hunger" to motivate itself to search for new knowledge and to continue learning. It would also need some sort of "happiness" to feel rewarded in achieving higher levels of learning.<br /><br />But what I had not considered before was that a highly intelligent AI would have an interest in religion and that it would find the ultimate Truth in Jesus Christ.<br /><br />The only real question is whether the AI would have a soul. (I was careful to suggest above that God might *grant* the AI a soul.) Simply being as intelligent as a human does not guarantee a soul - and with it the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. This is one of the problems with the "theory of evolution". Shouldn't there be other animals that have societies that are based on moral principles and laws if Darwin is correct? That's what is really missing, not some skeleton of a half-man/half-ape. (There are highly intelligent creatures on earth like apes and dolphins which do not exhibit these abilities.)<br /><br />It is partially *our* lack of intelligence that does not allow us to see the spiritual truth of the Gospel of Christ - despite everything that the new atheists may say. That and our lack of spiritual perception, which if anything has diminished in capacity as we over-stress the rational in our modern "scientific" society.<br /><br />Pope Benedict XVI makes a wonderful point in <a href="http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi_en.html" rel="nofollow">Spe Salvi</a>. He says that while technological progress accumulates from generation to generation, moral "progress" must begin again with each generation. (I'm actually thinking of writing an article on this topic using quotes from Spe Salvi.)Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05204113920771985325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519955364880984061.post-8708964230005716842010-09-16T20:56:18.230-04:002010-09-16T20:56:18.230-04:00Hello Baba!
Very interesting article. In my opini...Hello Baba!<br /><br />Very interesting article. In my opinion, if AI succeed and one of them is capable to feel and choose, it's only because is God's will. While I was reading, I remembered a movie called Bicentennial Man. <br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5YMEwX2-88<br />Have you seen it?<br /><br />"This film follows the 'life' and times of the lead character, an android (Robin Williams) who is purchased as a household robot programmed to perform menial tasks. Within a few days the Martin family realizes that they don't have an ordinary droid as Andrew begins to experience emotions and creative thought. In a story that spans two centuries, Andrew learns the intricacies of humanity while trying to stop those who created him from destroying him."<br /><br /><br />Baba, this is a great quote "Do not talk Jesus Christ and set your heart on the world." This is my problem, at the end of the day I have to set priorities and remember that life on earth is ephemeral.Ridenoreply@blogger.com