AI Amalek

Amalek and artificial intelligence. Can’t be? Of course it can. Artificial intelligence might turn into our enemy. The kind of enemy we can’t reason with. The kind of enemy that wants to eliminate us because, in its eyes, we are the lower stage of evolution that isn’t nearly as efficient and smart as AI. It reminds me of disdain with which many psychopaths treat others – to psychopaths, guilt is a hindrance, a sign of less developed beings. As they are less developed, they deserve all the abuse psychopaths subject them to. That’s how psychopaths think. And when you have a head of state who’s a psychopath, you can count on that state to be nihilistic, anything-goes, state that changes its policy on a whim without any regard for the victims of that state.

I was in a local Pizza Hut here in Warsaw where they have this rectangular, white-colored and upright device with a black cat’s face on it. AI of rudimentary kind. It moves around with pizzas, says ”meow” and cześć ”hi.” While I’m no Luddite, that seemingly helpful cat unnerves me for some reason. It’s just another way of AI to creep into our lives. On its own, the digital cat looks like its helping the staff. The kids might find the whole cat thing funny.

Except, it’s yet another example, in a long progression of trends leading us to a dystopian future.

It gets particularly tricky, and dangerous, when AI passes the Turing test. Simply put, if you can’t tell you’re talking to artificial intelligence online, if you’re convinced it’s a human being on the other side – that AI has passed the Turing test. What if, some time in the not-so-distant future, people can pay not just to interact with the likeness of their dead loved ones, friends, even strangers, online, but you’re going to be able to interact with a physical copy of your loved one, friend, even a total stranger? Someone who’s an exact copy of the dead person.

What then? Is that person the same as us humans? See how complex it gets? No wonder the whole AI ethics field is expanding rapidly. A religious radical might scream it’s Satanic. Who knows, maybe some lines aren’t meant to be crossed and this is one of them. But, of course, that line is going to be crossed (if humanity survives all the ongoing mess, of course).

The way Alan Turning, the genius who greatly advanced our understanding of computing, was treated, is another matter entirely – his punishment made him grow breasts, which led to his humiliation and possibly suicide (as far as I know, it might have been accidental poisoning and not suicide, it’s one of those things never to be resolved, I guess, only God knows the truth about Turing’s final moments and thoughts).

AI can also turn into the assualt on our sense of separatedness. Some are warning that AI might lead us to creating a hive mind and microchips and brain chips are going in that direction – and fast. Yes, brain chips have benefits, sure. But, just like with pacemakers that can be hacked remotely, we make ourselves vulnerable to outside interference and our brains are, essentially, who we are. At least on this plane of existence.

For this reason, I’m leery of any kind of digital afterlife, where we can find ourselves at the mercy of AI or some psychopath, maybe even deleting our sense of individual self altogether.

Even during World War 2, with all the horrors, they couldn’t touch our individual sense of self to that extent. They couldn’t read our minds, edit our thoughts, as much as they’ve wanted to. And now, AI might do just that. Nothing can be worse than that, in my opinion.

The concept of Amalek evolves – from evil tribes ambushing and senselessly slaughtering the Jewish people to AI capable of hacking our minds. What a scary progression.

If you think it’s not going to happen soon, think again – I worked in China in 2017 and even then, the social credit score system was alive and well. Read up on it. See where we’re headed.

A global, digital, gulag. If the nukes don’t kill us first, that is. Progress is good – as long as it’s controlled and steered in the right direction. Who decides the right direction? Should there be anyone? I’ll leave you with these questions so vital for our survival as a species.