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Introduction
This is a Podcast based in Portugal called, It’s Not That Simple, funded by the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation, and hosted by Pedro Pinto. Since being filmed on May 19, 2023, its YouTube broadcast has seen over 286,350 views! I was instantly drawn to it; now I know why.
This episode’s featured guest was Jewish Historian, Writer, and Author of several books on humanity — Yuval Noah Harari. He is not the focus of this article, even though his worldview is skewed drastically secular; but his view of Artificial Intelligence (Ai) and unchecked technology could have serious implications to humanity and everything we know to be true. The more I watched, the more terrified I became. This may be the fastest 45-minute video you’ll ever watch.
Three things we need to know about Ai
Naoh Harari starts the video about three things we need to know about Ai when it comes to the wonders and the complexities of it.
Ai is a tiny baby that will get big, and quick.
Harari goes on to say that right now, Ai is the size of an ameba, just in the first stage of life. It is controlled in a lab as a search engine in OpenAI / ChatGPT. It can’t go anywhere else. But what happens when in a few years, not billions of years (per Harari’s reference) it would take to turn into a full adult Tyrannosauruss Rex? Since it never rests, and is always on, it will continue to grow exponentially. That is a problem because for a computer system — one second is an entire lifetime.
It is the first technology that can make decisions by itself
No previous technology out there ever created could make decisions on its own; it had to be done though human programming and physically hitting the “execute” button.
But what happens when you give the power to hit the “execute” button to Ai? And by execute, I mean — execute.
“[Ai] is not the same. No previous technology in history could make decisions. You know, even an atom bomb actually empowered humans because an atom bomb could destroy a city; it cannot decide which city to bomb. You always needed a human to make the decision. Ai is the first technology that can make decisions by itself, even about us.”
Yuval Noah Harari
It is the first technology ever that can create new ideas
All mediums, whether books, radio, television, broadcast new ideas developed in the human brain. It is man that creates new ideas, concepts, thoughts, drawings, pictures, and works of art. Machines cannot create new ideas. But what if Ai can create medicines, buildings, transportation, weapons, anti-weapons and so forth? What if it thinks not only a new way of doing things, but creates something that hasn’t been seen yet? The list is endless.
Harari touches on the fact that the Gutenberg press took what was created by God and duplicated by man through a printing press created by man. The device did not create a new bible; the press didn’t create a new religion. Harari touches on this and what really made me think.
“Ai can create new ideas; could even write a new bible. Throughout history, religions dreamt about having a book written by a super-human intelligence — a non-human entity…. In a few years there might be religions that are actually correct. That, just think that a religion whose holy book is written by an Ai. That could be a reality in a few years.
Yuval Noah Harari
Just imagine if Ai took all the world’s religions and made something entirely different? What if it even seemed to some (or most) that it was the perfect religion? Oh, but we will still need coders and technicians. In a perfect Ai world, Ai would create code with the ability to fix itself.
Who holds the leash on god?
In a real setting, who would control Ai and for what purpose? Would there be several, or just one? Would it try to kill the others, or would it only be commanded by the one who holds the leash?
When I talk about holding the leash, I mean not only of its potential power, but also laws to confine it to its own pen not to get out and harm others, because as Harari said in this interview, there are absolutely no laws regarding Ai to keep it on a leash. Even down to its most finite component of imitating a human being. Imitating a person like you and I could be very bad; but what about a doctor, CEO of a large company, or the President of the United States?
We have laws against counterfeiting money, people, or stealing a person’s intellectual property. But there are no laws against Ai counterfeiting or impersonating a human being. Why? Because there was no technology that could do this until now. We see deep fakes online of video putting people in situations in which they never have been; of people doing something they wouldn’t do. What if deep fakes go to the form of a robot walking, talking, and doing things with an Ai brain?
Writers of Sci-fi books and movies saw this coming, even in an age when computers were not even thought of yet. Take for instance the film starring Will Smith called: I, Robot. In this film, the mass-produced robots had to obey a set of hardwired rules called The Three Laws:
- A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
- A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
- A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second law.
But did you know I, Robot was actually a collection of short science fiction stories in which the laws were first published? The publication contained a short story called, Runaround, written by Science Fiction Author and Professor of Biochemistry at Boston University, Isaac Asimov. Within the story is where he created the Three Laws of Robotics. The same Three Laws from the Will Smith movie. He foresaw the terrifying potential of a world torn apart and robots doing harm even as far back as 1942. Different articles suggested that he came up with the idea in 1938, but was unable to articulate it.
Ai the Antichrist, the Beast, or the False Prophet of Revelation?
Harari and Pinto don’t touch on this, but it’s what my brain went to immediately within the first fifteen minutes of watching this. What if Ai had the potential to be the Antichrist, the Beast, or the False Prophet?
That is a terrifying thought, isn’t it? Imagine Ai with all its knowledge, “thoughts” and inspirations in a robotic body of metal that walked and talked, linked to the endless mind of the internet with the ability to create anything it wanted, sway the world and make it everything it wanted without distraction and frustration of man. Without the need to eat or sleep; constantly on, creating and fulfilling its own purpose without care, concern, empathy, sympathy, or emotion. With all of its deceptions and abilities, it would be not just a work of art, but something more.
Ai would be a god in our image, with its ultimate goal to be worshipped.
Surprisingly I am not the only one who thinks it is possible. Charisma Magazine published an article from April 8, 2019 called, Could the Antichrist Be Artificial Intelligence Instead of a Real Person? In it they interview Pastor Mark Biltz, author of the book, Decoding the Antichrist and the End Times: What the Bible Says and What the Future Holds, in which he says Ai definitely needs to be considered.
Personally, I believe that Ai most likely fits as the Image of the Beast of Revelation for two reasons. First, it is an image, not life, even though in Revelation 13:15 that it was given breath to speak. Satan cannot create life, only imitate it. What better imitation than that of a robot Ai that can perceive to think, speak, and seem alive? But more specifically than that, the Image of the Beast is not found in the in the company of the False Prophet, the Beast, or Satan as they were thrown into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 19:19-21; 20:10). Why? Because there is no punishment of fire to something that is not alive or can feel pain. It has no soul, and in fire it would be completely destroyed physically.
Conclusion
Harari continues towards the end of his discussion about his personal life, as well as thoughts on Christianity, Jesus, and the disconnection of the mind from the body — touching on devices like the Metaverse: the idea of creating an immaterial realm made entirely of data with no physical contact or biology. The way he speaks of it is almost chilling; as if he is talking about a new religion, system, and order. Human beings have always been hard wired to seek a hero transcendent of themselves. Pinto, the Host of the program, is clearly bothered throughout the talk, as he should be. It’s worse than we think.
Pens & Wrenches 