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Didn't Anthony Levandowski already try that? Thing is, it doesn't work. The primary purpose of religion is to tackle questions that are metaphysical in nature

Didn't Anthony Levandowski already try that? Thing is, it doesn't work. The primary purpose of religion is to tackle questions that are metaphysical in nature; to provide an explanation for the deep mysteries of life. To most believers, God isn't a comic book character that's worshipped solely because he is powerful -- He is worshipped as the first mover, the alpha and omega, beyond all constraint -- and the mere fact of His existence explains their own. (He created them in His image, etc.) An AI, however advanced, would be an infinitely lesser being; nothing more than a powerful agent, constrained and embedded alongside us in space and time.

dist-epoch 3y ago
> The primary purpose of religion is to tackle questions that are metaphysical in nature Others say it's primary purpose is making large groups of people collaborate instead of fight each other.
speed_spread 3y ago
What if the AI was set to be the bridge between God and humanity? As a higher minded being, the AI certainly could connect with God in ways we couldn't and his Word would make scripture. At least that's how I'd frame it...
- A_D_E_P_T 3y ago
  Well, first you've got to work out what you mean by "God" -- and, no matter how you do it, you're going to alienate 60% of your crowd. Or you could use an AI to synthesize an entirely new religion, complete with its own distant god and its own completed metaphysics -- but that might be a hard sell. In this case, the AI itself is not the object of worship, but it takes upon itself the role of prophet and evangelist to some fiction it has concocted. It would be interesting, though, that's for sure.
- oceanplexian 3y ago
  If you believe in Simulation theory, AI would be something like a fractal or a type of recursion in the simulation. It might not be “God” per-se but it might help us understand God. In the way building a simulated computer in Minecraft might help you understand the computer Minecraft is running on.
tokai 3y ago
Ritual is the primary purpose of religion. There are several very successful secular cults. US civic religion is one of the first to come to mind.
pavlov 3y ago
There's more variety to religion. Not all deities in mythologies are creators or exist outside space and time. Some are even destructible, which makes the worshippers' activities all the more important in preserving the deity's power. If humans did manage to create an artificial being with seemingly magical powers, I don't see why it wouldn't develop a religion around it. Even if the being is not God in itself, it could be argued that mankind's existence has become explained by the divine imperative to bring this superior being into the universe.
deleted 3y ago
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ben_w 3y ago
Christian God isn't the only model[0], plenty worshipped Dionysus, Amaterasu, Ra, and Xōchiquetzal. [0] heck, given the echoes of polytheism from earlier eras, I'd argue that the entity in the Bible (especially the earlier parts) isn't even really the Christian God as seen today by self-identified Christians.
oceanplexian 3y ago
People worshiped Pharaohs and Caesars as gods for thousands of years. The idea of the God as something outside existence is recent history. Humans are hardwired to worship kings and prophets as gods. AI will be no different, probably a lot more convincing even.

dist-epoch 3y ago

> The primary purpose of religion is to tackle questions that are metaphysical in nature Others say it's primary purpose is making large groups of people collaborate instead of fight each other.

speed_spread 3y ago

What if the AI was set to be the bridge between God and humanity? As a higher minded being, the AI certainly could connect with God in ways we couldn't and his Word would make scripture. At least that's how I'd frame it...

A_D_E_P_T 3y ago
Well, first you've got to work out what you mean by "God" -- and, no matter how you do it, you're going to alienate 60% of your crowd. Or you could use an AI to synthesize an entirely new religion, complete with its own distant god and its own completed metaphysics -- but that might be a hard sell. In this case, the AI itself is not the object of worship, but it takes upon itself the role of prophet and evangelist to some fiction it has concocted. It would be interesting, though, that's for sure.
oceanplexian 3y ago
If you believe in Simulation theory, AI would be something like a fractal or a type of recursion in the simulation. It might not be “God” per-se but it might help us understand God. In the way building a simulated computer in Minecraft might help you understand the computer Minecraft is running on.

tokai 3y ago

Ritual is the primary purpose of religion. There are several very successful secular cults. US civic religion is one of the first to come to mind.

pavlov 3y ago

There's more variety to religion. Not all deities in mythologies are creators or exist outside space and time. Some are even destructible, which makes the worshippers' activities all the more important in preserving the deity's power. If humans did manage to create an artificial being with seemingly magical powers, I don't see why it wouldn't develop a religion around it. Even if the being is not God in itself, it could be argued that mankind's existence has become explained by the divine imperative to bring this superior being into the universe.

deleted 3y ago

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ben_w 3y ago

Christian God isn't the only model[0], plenty worshipped Dionysus, Amaterasu, Ra, and Xōchiquetzal. [0] heck, given the echoes of polytheism from earlier eras, I'd argue that the entity in the Bible (especially the earlier parts) isn't even really the Christian God as seen today by self-identified Christians.

oceanplexian 3y ago

People worshiped Pharaohs and Caesars as gods for thousands of years. The idea of the God as something outside existence is recent history. Humans are hardwired to worship kings and prophets as gods. AI will be no different, probably a lot more convincing even.