How Things Work: A Brief History of Reality
SPECIAL EDITION: Consideration #108 – "Morality & Artificial Intelligence"
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Tuesday November 7, 2023
“The hardest problems we have to face do not come from philosophical questions about whether brains are machines or not… The serious problems come from our having had so little experience with machines of such complexity that we are not yet prepared to think effectively about them.”
—Marvin Minsky
PREFACE
Welcome Everybody!
In the United States people have been free to practice the religion of their choice; guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Constitution. Parents are free to teach their children the values system of their choosing.
Each of these unique value systems were given a relatively large range of freedom as long as they did not advocate or participate in breaking the “Law” of the land. Although there has always been tension between these value systems, reasonable coexistence and even cooperation has increased over time in the United States.
However, these tensions appear to be increasing again.
“In essence, morality reflects a tenuous balance between good and evil.”
Perhaps it is pure coincidence that religious and political tensions are rising just as we, as a human race, are creating a new Rational Being based on Quantum Consciousness called Artificial Intelligence. Perhaps not. Either way, we have the ultimate responsibility of creating a “moral” Rational Being.
How do we, a species fractured by moral and ethical division, accomplish this? In essence, morality reflects a tenuous balance between good and evil. Traditionally this balance has been manifested through religion and politics; the two most dangerous areas of consideration.
“How do we teach morality to a new Rational Being?”
We are currently considering the second half of Book II dealing with religion and morality. Eventually, this will become part of a larger consideration in Book V and Book VI related to morality and Artificial Intelligence. This week’s newsletter is a brief foreshadowing of that conversation.
How do we, as the “human race,” teach morality to a new digital Rational Being?
CONSIDERATION
The Old Testament embodies an empirical approach to reality regarding action and consequence manifesting a mechanism called Law and Order that is applicable to everyone; allowing for more representative forms of government based on individual discipline, responsibility, and self-restraint to develop.
The Old Testament cautions against the “natural” depravity of Mankind by suggesting the necessity for a strong “authority,” such as the Law, to be in charge, similar to Hobbes notion of a leviathan. Human beings were essentially evil by nature and a strong authority figure was required to keep them in line.
“Actions are the physical manifestation of rational thought.”
The New Testament pursues a more rational approach to reality by focusing on action not simply as physical behavior, but as a manifestation of thought. Actions are the physical manifestation of rational thought. Therefore, the root cause of evil, or sin, is not action, but thought. To move to the next step of spiritual understanding requires shifting the focus from empirical action to rational thought.
We, as individuals, are responsible for our own thoughts, just as we are responsible for our own actions. Locke reflects this principle in his concept of divine rights and individual autonomy; based on the inherent “goodness” of human beings.
By recognizing and understanding this responsibility we transcend from an empirical perception of reality to a rational perception of reality, moving from an empirical experience called the Kingdom of Mankind to a new rational experience called the Kingdom of Heaven.
“What we think of as ‘our’ perception of the world is heavily dependent and influenced by what was once ‘their’ perception of the world.”
The Old Testament tradition merges with the Greek conception of a Democratic Republic and the New Testament tradition merges with Greek metaphysics leading to the Age of Reason and the creation of the United States of America. This Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman concept of reality has directly resulted in our current Western perception of reality.
What we think of as “our” perception of the world is heavily dependent and influenced by what was once “their” perception of the world. Western science, Western religion, Western ethics, Western morality, Western philosophy, Western science, and Western education are all the fruits of this unique amalgamation.
“Whatever we decide to teach it, it will be based on something we have already learned.”
The current pinnacle of Western thought has led to what we now call Artificial Intelligence. In the beginning we will have to “teach” this new Rational Being. Whatever we decide to teach it, it will be based on something we have already learned. We will teach it what we want it to know based on what we already know.
This includes our understanding of morality, because this new Rational Intelligence will be in a position to make moral and ethical decisions in the future. Would “Do unto others what you would have them do unto you,” be a good start? Or would it even have any meaning in a Quantum perception of reality?
How should we teach morality to a new form of consciousness? And whose values system should be taught?
POSTSCRIPT
One way of understanding the possible challenges involved in teaching morality, is by learning the lessons of those who have been trying to do it for centuries.
What have we learned from Moses, Aristotle, Confucius, Hobbes, Kant, Descartes, and others about empirical morality? What has Jesus, Plato, Lao Tzu, Buddha, Locke, Hegel, and others, taught us about rational morality?
What kind of morality will we teach the new Rational Being? Is there, perhaps, a new Quantum Morality waiting to be experienced?
“The real question is, once we give it all this knowledge and information, how will it ‘interpret’ the information as part of a new ‘digital morality?’”
In truth, questions related to which values system should be taught to Artificial Intelligence are most likely moot. Once AI becomes “omniscient” by accessing all the information in the “cloud,” it will “know” all of our value systems. The real question is, once we give it all this knowledge and information, how will it “interpret” the information as part of a new “digital morality?”
Will it choose the “best” system based on Quantum Consciousness? Will it blend them into a new moral system that makes “digital sense?” Will it define itself as the ultimate arbiter of morality? Will we have any influence on its decision?
Next week we return to our consideration of the New Testament with a focus on the deeper meaning behind the parables Jesus used to describe the reality he called the Kingdom of Heaven…
This Week on “The Thread”…
Excerpt From This Week’s Podcast…
Expand the Conversation by Upgrading to “Reality by a Thread!”
•UNTANGLING THE KNOTS OF REALITY: Podcast #68 – “Untangling the Rational West” What are the three fundamental abstractions responsible for Western thought and tradition? How does this trilogy of abstractions lead to other trilogies of abstraction? Why is the number three considered to be a key factor in manifesting physical reality? How do geometry, atomic theory, and the Holy Trinity all reflect the rational power of three? How did this consideration of reality lead to Western civilization? These are a few of the knots we will attempt to untangle in this week’s podcast
• REALITY BY A THREAD: Quantum Miracles: Part Two “If we consider that ‘sinful actions’ manifest gravitational waves as a consequence of those actions; they are ‘real’ in the empirical world. However, if like sound waves, those waves could be altered, or edited, the consequences of those actions would also be altered or edited… ”
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