Faith, hope, love, and AI
Our different responses to artificial intelligence point to different stories—and different Christian virtues.
(Century illustration (Source images: Getty)
We need to talk about artificial intelligence. We can divide responses to AI into three groups. Let’s call them Not on Your Life; Yes, Please; and Yes, But. Each of these groups has an implied story.
Not on Your Life anticipates the moment when AI reaches what’s known as the singularity, the point where technological development reproduces itself, uncontrollably and irreversibly, almost inevitably dominating human civilization. Stephen Hawking described our situation as like receiving a message from a superior alien civilization saying, “We’ll arrive in a few decades.” He said that so far we’re replying, “OK, call us when you get here—we’ll leave the lights on.” The Not on Your Life story is not one in which some of us are losers; it’s one in which we all are. It sees the takeover of the human domain by computers and robots as simply a matter of time.
The story of Yes, Please is rooted in science fiction. This is an optimistic Silicon Valley story, one in which humans can eventually gain mastery over all limitations. It’s a story closely linked to transhumanism, the attempt to extend human life span and cognitive capability. It sees life as surrounded by unnecessary constraints and AI as a unique opportunity to overcome many of those constraints.
