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https://theconversation.com/technology-will-never-be-a-god-but-has-it-become-a-religion-243800>
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Review: Tech Agnostic: How Technology Became the World’s Most Powerful
Religion, and Why It Desperately Needs a Reformation – Greg M. Epstein (MIT
Press)
Way back in September 2015, the controversial engineer, entrepreneur and
Silicon Valley magnate Anthony Levandowski set out to establish a new religion.
He called it the Way of the Future – or WOTF.
According to documents filed with the state of California at the time, the aim
of WOTF was to “develop and promote the realisation of a Godhead based on
Artificial Intelligence”.
Levandowski’s idea was that, even though it had not yet been born, we should
all begin worshipping a technological god in advance. For, on the inevitable
day of its arrival, that might be the only way to avoid its horrible wrath.
Almost a decade later, technology has yet to reach the status of a god, either
vengeful or benevolent. But the use of religious language to describe
technology has become widespread.
Those working on AI, for example, tell us that its powers will soon become
“magical”. Modern day prophets like Ray Kurtzweil and his many followers insist
we are on the verge of a “singularity”, in which technology will allow us to
surpass all previous limitations on human existence, including death.
Figures like Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, can be heard saying things like “I
don’t pray for God to be on my side, I pray to be on God’s side”, and “working
on these models definitely feels like being on the side of the angels”.
Even the billionaire media mogul Oprah Winfrey has assured us, in a recent
television special, that contemporary intelligent technology is nothing less
than “miraculous”."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
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mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
