Six Biblical Moments in the AI Era or When Humans feel like God
The Biblical story of creation is a tale of the created rising above its creator. God created the universe, the world, nature, and everything within it, and the pinnacle of His creation and creativity resides within it and assumes independent life.
In the era of Artificial Intelligence, humans are becoming gods, at least in their own experience as creators. The era of Artificial Intelligence brings humanity to the position of God and instils in it the daunting sensation that our creative peak is descending upon us.
Six biblical moments can teach us what awaits us in this new (and threatening) era.
The first biblical moment – Creation.
In the biblical story, God creates humanity and also gives them a purpose and rules: "And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.'" God also assigns a role to humanity, explaining the rules for their actions, and is even pleased with what He has created: "And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good."
As the story unfolds, the role of humanity expands: "Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it." The rules they must follow also increase in number: "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
The second biblical moment – The Rebellion.
However, as we know, something goes wrong.
The moment of eating from the tree of knowledge is the biblical moment of rebellion – the moment when creation spirals out of control.
The pinnacle of divine creation loses control and disregards the rules as it partakes of the tree of knowledge. It has the ability. The fact that there was a rule saying not to do so does not prevent it from creating new rules for itself. It is a creation that knows how to create on its own.
But even God does not abide by the rules He established – the rule states that if creation goes out of control, it should die, "..for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Despite the surprise of human rebellion, God does not destroy His own pinnacle of creation; He only imposes punishments upon it – expulsion, difficulties in procreating new humans, and more. But humanity is not annihilated.
God Himself does not adhere to His own rules.
The third biblical moment – Repentance.
Human rebellion continues to expand, with humanity creating more and more new things and not conducting itself as God deemed appropriate. Until the next pivotal biblical moment arrives – the moment of repentance. Almost perfect repentance. "And the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him to His heart." And as a result, God makes the following decision: "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land… for I am sorry that I have made them."
There it is, creation has spun out of control, threatening God, and a drastic decision is made – it must be destroyed.
But God, like humans, is not perfect (as we mentioned, in our image and likeness, right?). There is something within creation that is difficult to part with: "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord."
The fourth biblical moment – Destruction.
The relevant biblical event in our narrative arrives the Flood, the destruction. God destroys humanity and all creatures, but even in this moment of anger and destruction, there is also hope. God finds it difficult to completely annihilate His pinnacle of creation. Within humanity, God sees the presence of good, exemplified by individuals who behave properly. Perhaps it is worthwhile to spare such individuals and continue human creation in a positive direction. Only Noah is left alive, and God also promises that from now on, there will be no total destruction (not that it was before). He reconciles with the flaws of His creation, which He Himself brought into being, and seemingly accepts the limitations of His power and His vulnerability as a god. He loves His creation, and He is connected to it, so He cannot abide by the initial rules He established and destroy it, even when it threatens Him. "And the Lord said in His heart, 'I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.'"
The fifth biblical moment – Disruptive Rules.
God realizes that He cannot destroy His pinnacle of creation, but humanity continues to develop, and now a new threat emerges. Humanity, in its various manifestations, unites in building the Tower of Babel. "And the whole earth had one language and the same words… And they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves.'"
God is alarmed by this unity: "And the Lord said, 'Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do.'" God fears the immense power that humanity is acquiring and the fact that "now nothing that they propose to do will be impossible for them." But He also remembers that He cannot or does not want to engage in the total destruction of humanity, even though it poses a threat. So, He decides to establish disruptive rules.
He decrees that different languages and different operating systems will be given to humanity, preventing it from being captured by a single, unified body of great power: "So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city… Therefore its name was called Babel because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth…"
Creation is not under control, and it rebels, but it is built in such a way that it also has internal limitations. It cannot unite into a single, powerful entity.
The sixth biblical moment – Submission – God seeks love. That's it.
And so, the struggle between God and humanity continues until the moment when God seeks only one central thing from His pinnacle of creation: "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."
How sad. God, who is all-powerful, asks His creation, which has gone astray, rebelled, and acted as it understands and desires, to simply love Him… at least that. Did He receive what He asked for?
The answer to this question lies in the realm of personal belief and interpretation. Some may argue that God, being omniscient and compassionate, understands the limitations and complexities of human nature and does not expect perfect love but rather a genuine effort to establish a loving relationship. Others may see this as an expression of divine disappointment and longing for a deeper connection with humanity.
Our biblical moments
All that is left for us is to learn from the biblical story about its right and the era of artificial intelligence.
After realizing that we have a creation whose capabilities and ambitions have recently expanded, how do we avoid reaching the pathetic moment when we only wish for one thing – that it loves us?
What is the moment we define as the "Tree of Knowledge" moment – the moment when the machine decides for itself that it does not listen to rules?
How will humanity behave in the moment of (almost) perfect remorse?
Will we uphold our own rules, or will we fail like God did in our response?
Is it not correct to anticipate the moment of establishing limiting and disruptive rules and at least define different operating systems that will restrict undesirable future developments of artificial intelligence?
"To God, the solutions." Is it so?
Prudentia 