Last week, we witnessed OpenAI’s fiasco with the board ousting their CEO Sam Altman, and his subsequent glorious return, playing his ultimate UNO reversal card. It really showed the world that the prioritization and race to commercialize key technological advances often trump ethical and safety concerns, even when existential risks are involved.
On top of that, there are rumours that OpenAI might have secretly achieved artificial general intelligence (AGI), a thought that sends shivers down my spine. The reason is that the next logical step of attaining artificial superintelligence (ASI), might not be years or months away, but potentially just days or even hours. The likelihood of it surpassing our awareness without us noticing is truly alarming. (If AGI is attaining the intelligence that we humans already possess now, ASI means surpassing our abilities and be able to perceive the world and solve previously unsolvable problems in a way that we humans can never even comprehend, just as an amoeba could never understand humans solving complex quantum mechanics equations.)
In light of these developments, it is timely to revisit Tim Urban’s insightful two-part article from 2015, for a quick primer on the AI Revolution, focusing first on the journey to ASI, and secondly on the (dire) consequences on humanity that could lead to either immortality or extinction.
Yesterday was Christ the King Sunday, and the lectionary texts, especially the Matthew 25:31-46 text, also present to us two vastly different ultimate outcomes: eternal life or eternal damnation. This raises a critical question: Will we create an artificial deity that could either eradicate us or exert supreme dominance over every aspect of human life, or will we proceed with utmost caution to ensure that any emerging superintelligence, alien and beyond our control, takes its first steps aligned with our human values, or at least possesses the capacity to empathize with and value our existence?
Of course, an ASI is under no obligation to align with our human values, just as we humans do not align with the values of chimpanzees, cockroaches, or other creatures we deem beneath us in the dominance hierarchy. (Perhaps appearing cute and cuddly to an ASI might win us some favor? I hope not, for I don’t think I possess any “kawaii”-ness.) Once we have opened this Pandora’s Box and created an artificial overlord, we may find ourselves imploring for mercy and saying “Lord, have mercy on us” in a very different tone and context.
Nevertheless, my hope lies in the true God, the uncreated, unmoved mover of all things visible and invisible, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, and crucially, omnibenevolent (i.e. all-loving). He still reigns supreme and has everything under control, as the Alpha and the Omega, who is, who was, and who is to come, guiding humanity towards our intended destiny and our “telos”, out of His love for us, regardless how many times we are on the verge of causing our own destruction and extinction. Having recently just finished preaching on the second half of Genesis, I am reassured: no matter how hellbent we are to stray and prone to err (just like the very flawed chosen family in Genesis), the Lord God remains faithful to His promises, turning our failures into means to fulfill His good purposes in us. Thus, I do not lose hope.
Even if we are able to ensure ASI does align with our values and come alongside to aide our human flourishing, we might find ourselves greatly humbled by the prowess of this artificial superintelligence. By then, where does the value and dignity of human beings lie? Do we have an inherent worth that cannot be measured by intelligence or performance? Perhaps Psalm 8 and Hebrews 2 can shed us some light when humans are compared with angels, who are indeed superior in many ways, except that God has only fashioned humans in His own image and crowned them with glory and honor. Nothing should threaten our value and dignity, because they are not based on our ability or performance, but on our inherent worth as sons and daughters of the One who created it all, and the special relationship that we enjoy with the Father through Christ. Paul said in Romans 8:38-39: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers [including ASI], neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
What does the future look like for us then? With the advent of ASI, our livelihoods might drastically change and become so much more convenient and easy (just as how people from 300 years ago might marvel at our washing machines, Teslas, satellites, and 5G smartphones), but that does not exempt us from the need to continue to learn and to grow. Even if one day we are no longer on top of the dominance hierarchy, that does not mean we just sit there and remain idle, for the joy in life is in the process of learning, growing, experiencing, transforming, including the experiences of failing and suffering. Only when we realize the meaning of life is in the journey itself and not the destination, will we be able to withstand anything that might come our way, even something as challenging as having an ASI that humbles us. And it is okay, for being “human” means to be “humbled” (from the Latin root “humus” meaning earth or soil). And Jesus reassured us: “Blessed are the meek [or humbled ones], for they will inherit the earth.” (Matt. 5:5)
Collect for Christ the King Sunday
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
For more reflection on AI and the biblical story, check out this talk from FaithTech, by Derek C. Schuurman, Ph.D., a Christian computer scientist: