Based on standard Christian dogma, which I must use as context since that is my upbringing, God is the creator of heaven and earth. That is to say, he, in an instant decided to conduct what many refer to as the “big bang,” and in a brilliant, yet possibly colorless flash, the entire universe was created. What came before that we’re left to wonder and fight over? I always assumed he (I’ll be using the masculine in this essay because I don’t like reading let alone writing he/she, nor care to be all that politically correct—after all this is an essay involving singularity where gender will presumably mean nothing) would’ve been much happier lounging by his own version of a pool side with beer in hand, drinking not from stress of the cosmos but from divine satisfaction. Drinking and relaxing in the warm reflection of himself (there’s not yet a Sun remember) instead of wondering whether “this whole universe thing” was such a brilliant idea and not just a spontaneous and irrational reaction to stubbing his toe on the uneven deck tile.
Billions of years later and God decides to take the fun a couple million steps further and, through divine intervention, impregnate a woman named Mary with his sole heir, Jesus. It seems God had changed his philosophy from wrath and scorn—it got boring—to love and salvation, through his only begotten son. And because of this we humans have an option to hang out by God’s pool after we die or get whipped along side abortionists, homosexuals and native Americans, in the pits of hell—a place long associated with overtaxing the body with boils and bad music.
Thousands of years (a whopping two to be exact) followed God’s son’s crucifixion at the hands of the hasty Jewish leadership, and now we’ve gone and decided God isn’t all that important. We’ve decided we can do his job not only for him, but much better than him. We’ve decided, unknowingly at first perhaps, but now we’re well aware, to create our own “intelligent” being on earth. Though I feel God and most of the animal kingdom, most notably dolphins and primates, might contest this simplification for they also, from time to time, show signs of “intelligence” and not just when tortured by animal trainers and therapists.
Humans are reaching a point, which futurists, scientists, and some of the general public without cool titles and degrees define as the singularity. I’m not a scientist or theorist or any (admirable) “-ist” for that matter but from what I gather the singularity is basically the point when humans have reached our technological event horizon. More specifically, we’ve created intelligence superior and savvy enough to usurp our own. Essentially, there’s no turning back.
But what will happen to us humans with our quickly widening gap of inferior intellect is anybody’s guess? Will the new “super intelligent” machines take over and self teach themselves without any necessity for their human creators? They are meant to solve their own problems after all and inferiority is traditionally seen as such. Presumably, they will be intelligent enough or will make themselves intelligent enough to solve such a pesky thorn in the side as inferiority. However, this could cause the same problem we humans, their makers, faced when we created these super intelligent machines in the first place. That is to say, fast tracking themselves to their very own singularity oblivion with an even higher intelligence, whatever that might be.
But that debate and story line are not my own. What I’m more curious about is what will become of religion in the inevitable post-human world. Since super intelligent machines will be created to compute, to advance our already advancing without comprehension society, they will not necessarily be created to care.
Isaac Asimov states in his Three Laws of Robotics that robots must be programmed to never harm or hurt their human creators. There are even groups such as the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence, which advocates and lobbies for the importance of creating friendly artificial intelligence rather than just artificial intelligence.
But what of religion? Or more appropriately, will religion be used as the basic form of “good”—of “friendly.” Certainly the core belief of the three “great faiths” and others is peace and love. If we were to model an AI space shuttle pilot after Jesus would it not instinctually and philosophically be opposed to hurting others even if it must sacrifice itself? Unfortunately, history overwhelmingly proves that there are two sides to religion’s coin. We’ve witnessed the “good” in the acts of millions from all faiths who feed the poor and ease the suffering of the helpless in the name of their religion. On the other hand, it’s also inspired the Crusades, Inquisition and 9/11.
To be safe, designers will most likely leave religion behind. They will choose to leave religion with humans. Which is probably all for the better since we can’t predict or plan whether passion will over take programming and machine armies of al Qaeda will incidentally be created. Therefore, when the singularity does come, and if you read enough material, it certainly will (and pretty much by the middle of this century), where will religion go?
Humans, no longer at the top of the food chain, and no longer able to out think the machines will no longer continue their endless reproductive cycle and rule the earth. The machines will figure out a way to power themselves without the necessity of humans, leaving us to wonder what went wrong. But that’s the catch; nothing went wrong. It all went exactly right.
Evolution has never been a kind mistress. I can’t imagine the wooly mammoth, the saber tooth tiger, or any of pre-homo sapien “men” was any too happy to get handed their evolutionary pink slips. Of course, the theory of evolution goes that the time passing is so gradual, one’s unaware they’re on the way out while living in your current evolutionary state. The dinosaurs hadn’t a clue. Neanderthal man, even with fire, was aghast at the notion. Life continues and we can’t object. Unless of course you’re “intelligent,” or what “intelligent” beings will one day create, “super intelligent.”
We, being intelligent creations of God or whomever—even if it took him a couple million millennia to get us here—are in the unique position to be self aware of our own demise. The fact that every one of the “learning” channels i.e. History, National Geographic, and Discovery, are predominantly about the Earth’s, the Universe’s, and our very own life’s beginnings, but even more so, our inevitable crushing end, exhibits this.
In a way, our culture has not only accepted our demise but we seem pretty damn excited about it, so long as it ends in a monumental way. It’s not fun unless a black hole rips us in half or anti-matter inexplicably enters the Earth’s core and explodes us from inside out.
Christianity teaches that we are took look forward to this moment. It teaches us to be ready for this moment for Christ has returned. But I don’t believe human’s excitement over our world’s destruction is based on Christian scripture of the rapture. I don’t believe the general population is looking forward to God’s serpent headed, horseman lead judgment. I believe it has more to do with our shared ego that we’re the epitome of time and space and therefore all life will end under our reign. When in reality, our time will surely end, and though possibly during “our reign,” all life will not go along with it. Our creations, our very own manufactured evolutionary step, will invariably live on.
What does God think of all this messing about with his job? Unless he’s been asleep at the wheel for the last century he had to have seen it coming. He presumably could’ve taken the reigns and dashed us from this planet at any moment he saw fit. That’s assuming he has any issue with our advancements in the first place. I for one don’t think he does. Because it’s these actions he’s created. He’s not moving our hands and writing our mathematics and theoretical physics papers for us. He’s not telling us how to create the super intelligent machines that will finally lead us to our demise but he’s letting us do it for that’s what we’re supposed to do. It’s our evolutionary contribution. It’s in our nature to push our minds and our limits as far as we can. It’s why everything in our modern world exists as is it currently does. To stop every natural instinct humans have is impossible.
But doesn’t God fear he’ll be forgotten about with the next evolution of life? Isn’t God upset he’ll no longer be worshipped? The answer can’t be anything but no. God and the many hominid created religions are no more important than the death of those same religions when we’re gone. No more important than if religion doesn’t actually die with us. But he’ll not impose that religion on the next race of beings, super intelligent machines or otherwise. The super intelligent machines will come and with it they’ll create a world without religion, until of course, they do. Then God will sit back and watch the insanity unfold until they manufacture their own end of the world and race their race beyond technological sustainability as humans did.
Simply put, God just wants to see some action. Like sex, he’s gotten bored with the same old stuff. Watching missionary porn all day will make even the most virile erection grow weary. Like technology, the entertainment value of Earth grows exponentially less entertaining as each new evolutionary step occurs. Watching dinosaurs roar and dictators abhor for too long, will make anyone change the channel—even God. After all, it gets lonely by the everlasting pool in heaven. Even if the beer and company are quality there’s nothing better than watching Earth spin around and around wishing it truly knew why.
