The desire to transcend or escape our human boundaries has been present since the first humans disobeyed the command of God and ate the forbidden fruit. Curiosity both betters us and gets the better of us, depending on which path we take. No one wants to be confined to their present condition. The problem is, not many of us are willing to discover the hidden mysteries contained even within ourselves before we venture toward distant shores. Not knowing how to steer our own vessels, shipwreck soon follows.
Dangerous waters
Malleable universes such as A.I are now merging with the one we were born into. These new horizons present dangerous waters for the psychologically unequipped. Morality is paramount. Without a sense of responsibility toward ourselves and others there can be no compass for return or repentance if we find trouble in uncharted waters. Like a druggie that went insane on a trip, Alice might get trapped in wonderland.
We are now dealing with the rapid onslaught of transhumanism, children exchanging birth genders, identity politics and artificial intelligence. Humanity more than ever needs clearly defined beginning points. The serpents work in our generation is as it always has been, the eroding of our first foundations. “Did God really say?” has always been his best bargaining chip.
Today’s generation stands as one whose parents questioned whether discipline for children worked or is necessary. They questioned the value of etiquette and manners in the home and public spheres. They questioned necessary authority structures built over generations, from police to schoolteachers. They questioned the need for church and community for their children to be raised effectively. Children curse their parents without fear of consequence. To put it bluntly the children of today are a generation founded in doubt and distrust.
Suicide, mental illness and depression can only ever multiply amongst a generation who feel the burden of building their own world and identity without an anchor connected to the family dinner table. We are like modern smart phones, adding new and unnecessary features every day to our already underutilized systems. Becoming a vegan and doing yoga will not take away moral corruption and narcissism.
With a seared conscience this generation is quick to embrace unnatural change and jump fences in order to transcend themselves through artificial and technological means. Curiosity brought us to the tree of artificial intelligence, but it is our desire to escape perceived limitations that makes us eat strange fruit.
Escaping what’s real
Artificial worlds are created in order to escape what’s real. Nobody wants to be left behind in a world or body that’s not good enough for God or themselves. That’s why even Christians put their hopes in fantasy/fiction books and movies like Left Behind.
Immersive video games now keep many from real world functions like jobs, skills and responsibilities as they can become a hero without ever leaving their room. Pornography hinders many from finding actual relationships in the real world and often results in less sexual activity and satisfaction between married couples who are addicted. The same generation that sees commands as foolishness is the same one which will hybrid themselves into artificial systems created through innumerable commands.
Very soon, perhaps already, Artificial intelligence will not even allow you to think independently. Once its algorithms read your habitual thought patterns and chemical proportions at every moment of everyday, A.I will manipulate those patterns to blend with its own programmed agenda.
Once sin entered Cain’s door, free will was no longer free, as sin corrupted our thoughts, imaginations and changed our intentions. It is possible, and I believe probable, for us to reach the same point with A.I.
Cain represents a generation who did not know what is and what isn’t acceptable toward God. If we accept a viral intelligence into our bodies with this foundation of doubt inside already, we will murder that which is human about us and create a race much like our antediluvian ancestors, a people so far from the original blueprint that repentance becomes virtually impossible.
Disobedience to the principal commands descends humanity into a world of more and more complex and burdensome commands. As much as technology has improved our lives, we are still far from the garden of Eden. The path from paradise to the fruitful earth to thorns and thistles to synthetic cities is a taxing one.
Yes, Artificial intelligence can help us transcend our current limitations and help humanity evolve exponentially, but unless the mind be renewed, and morality embraced, a disaster of flood like proportions awaits. Humanities track record when it comes to dealing with super beings and super intelligent sentients is not so great. God’s spirit does not contend with man forever. Someone must oversee our growth, because we are children in understanding concerning many things.
The seed of faith
In a generation plagued by unbelief and doubt, only the seed of faith can save us. Only the seed of faith can cross the waters into the new world before us. As many as are led by the spirit of God, these are the sons of God, and the spirit knows all things and searches the deep things of God. There are two paths we can take in order to transcend our present state. Either we follow the Holy Spirit and walk in God’s commands or doubt the word of God and find ourselves burdened with more than we bargained for. Keep yourselves through faith.