Saturday, March 10, 2007
Would A Robot Worship God?
The furor over Intelligent Design (ID) has died down. At least I don't hear news stories about it. I'm guessing that advocates of ID haven't evolved into logical creatures so I'll assume they all gathered in their caves to debate the issue amongst themselves.
Recently, some new ideas have started to interest me. While artificial intelligence has not developed as quickly as predicted a few years ago, recent articles lead me to believe that we are getting closer. As machines and software become more powerful we will some day have machines that can pass the Turing test. At some point machines will become conscious. I guess at that point we will debate if they are really machines any more.
But my interest goes a little further and is sparked by some discussion as to whether or not there is a god gene. I think this means that there may be a gene that makes people more likely to accept sensations as having spiritual sources. We have evolved characteristics that help us to be more successful in our environment. Attributes that make us smarter (larger, more complex brains), more adaptable (walking upright, opposable thumbs), even social traits that help us survive. We are social, not solitary creatures. The traits we exhibit as a species reflect the accumulation of those attributes that have proved valuable and have helped us survive and, in fact, prevail over other species. Much of what we are and how we act is the response to environmental pressures.
One of the consequences of consciousness and the ability to think about what the future might hold, is a fear of the future and a fear of the unknown. This fear can be valuable by making us more cautious. Fear can make us more resourceful. We develop skills to counter threats we fear. When the unknown is identified we can determine if it represents a threat or not. If it is a threat, we can develop ways to control the threat. We can destroy the threat, develop defences or avoid it. In man's early years, most of the world was unknown and threatening. People were ravaged by threats they couldn't understand and therefore fearful. They were conscious of their mortality and could fear death. Death was certain for them and their loved ones, but what lay beyond life was unknown. Most of the world to early man was unknowable. An antidote to fear is hope. An antidote to fear of the unknown is a hope that there is a power that can control the unknown. Man searches for assurance that there is some existence after death inevitably occurs. It is therefore reasonable and logical that humans would acquire characteristics that would engender hope. That would be the god gene(s).
A conscious artificial intelligence may be created by software specifically constructed for that purpose. If so, should we program in a belief in God?
If conscious artificial intelligence develops by hardware designed to learn on its on, will it develop a belief in God on it own? Will that belief be sustained as it's intelligence and awareness grows? Will a conscious artificial intelligence have emotions? Will it know fear? If the fear is great enough, will it seek sources of hope? Will it believe we are god?
When I talk about a belief in god, I mean a belief in God. A belief in an entity that created reality and that actively intervenes in our daily lives. I doubt that an artificial intelligence would see us as a god. We would be its inventor and we might be its executioner.
As time permits I hope to do some research and see what other's have said in this area.
Recently, some new ideas have started to interest me. While artificial intelligence has not developed as quickly as predicted a few years ago, recent articles lead me to believe that we are getting closer. As machines and software become more powerful we will some day have machines that can pass the Turing test. At some point machines will become conscious. I guess at that point we will debate if they are really machines any more.
But my interest goes a little further and is sparked by some discussion as to whether or not there is a god gene. I think this means that there may be a gene that makes people more likely to accept sensations as having spiritual sources. We have evolved characteristics that help us to be more successful in our environment. Attributes that make us smarter (larger, more complex brains), more adaptable (walking upright, opposable thumbs), even social traits that help us survive. We are social, not solitary creatures. The traits we exhibit as a species reflect the accumulation of those attributes that have proved valuable and have helped us survive and, in fact, prevail over other species. Much of what we are and how we act is the response to environmental pressures.
One of the consequences of consciousness and the ability to think about what the future might hold, is a fear of the future and a fear of the unknown. This fear can be valuable by making us more cautious. Fear can make us more resourceful. We develop skills to counter threats we fear. When the unknown is identified we can determine if it represents a threat or not. If it is a threat, we can develop ways to control the threat. We can destroy the threat, develop defences or avoid it. In man's early years, most of the world was unknown and threatening. People were ravaged by threats they couldn't understand and therefore fearful. They were conscious of their mortality and could fear death. Death was certain for them and their loved ones, but what lay beyond life was unknown. Most of the world to early man was unknowable. An antidote to fear is hope. An antidote to fear of the unknown is a hope that there is a power that can control the unknown. Man searches for assurance that there is some existence after death inevitably occurs. It is therefore reasonable and logical that humans would acquire characteristics that would engender hope. That would be the god gene(s).
A conscious artificial intelligence may be created by software specifically constructed for that purpose. If so, should we program in a belief in God?
If conscious artificial intelligence develops by hardware designed to learn on its on, will it develop a belief in God on it own? Will that belief be sustained as it's intelligence and awareness grows? Will a conscious artificial intelligence have emotions? Will it know fear? If the fear is great enough, will it seek sources of hope? Will it believe we are god?
When I talk about a belief in god, I mean a belief in God. A belief in an entity that created reality and that actively intervenes in our daily lives. I doubt that an artificial intelligence would see us as a god. We would be its inventor and we might be its executioner.
As time permits I hope to do some research and see what other's have said in this area.
Labels: Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness, god gene, Religion
