Do you want to read almost 9,000 words on AI, manifest destiny, millenarian cults, evangelical christianity, the singularity, and how we have stopped trying to play God and now are trying to build God? Well here's your chance.
@emilygorcenski Wow, this is incredible, Emily!✨ 9,000 words!? I can't even see my scrollbar anymore.😄
I haven't read the whole thing yet, but from what I've read it looks like a beautiful arc from past to present to future on the topics you've mentioned. ➰
Thank you for this. I love it, when people are so dedicated/passionate about something! ❤️
@emilygorcenski that was a looong read, but worth it. Just a question about the last paragraph and specifically “The earth contains only so many rare earth elements”: does it? AFAIK the naming of those is a misnomer, and they are in fact abundant, with large deposits all over the globe, just not yet commercially exploited. Certainly finite supply, but not scarce enough be an issue any time soon.
@emilygorcenski true, but I read somewhere, can’t remember the source, that large deposit where sitting on the sea floor, in the South Pacific. Not a very populated or contested area. Just no need to get it now, as China has a lot of it available in close proximity to where it’s used. This might change though due to the current geopolitical climate.
@emilygorcenski I liked the post. A useful resource may be Gebru & Torres’s work. I know you mentioned Gebru’s firing, but she and others have done significant work on the TESCREAL bundle—transhumanism, extropianism, singularitarianism, cosmism, rationalism, effective altruism, longtermism—at the Distributed AI Research Institute since then.
Also recommend the podcast, Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 with Emily Bender, Alex Hanna, and guests. (dair.org)
I made it to the end! I needed more than 45 minutes but I'm a slow reader. Molly @molly0xfff brought me here (thanks Molly!), she wrote on effective altruism also on her Substack. This embeds it more deeply in historic perspective. What a good piece! ❤️
@emilygorcenski Just wanted to say that as a (tertiary, ecumenical) Franciscan Novice, and CISO, I really enjoyed this synthesis. I think you're right on the money.
Everyone's always trying to Immanentize the eschaton.
@emilygorcenski How many science fiction stories predicted that we'd one day be worshipping "a computer" or some artificial intelligence? Numerous. Were they wrong? Not necessarily. Will an AI become conscious? Nope. But can it appear as if it is? Yep. Will this be exploited for social control? If we allow it.