Adam and Eve, and the Singularity
The title of this article probably has you wondering what Adam and Eve have to do with the singularity. Or maybe you’re asking yourself what the singularity even means.
For the purpose of this article, here’s the appropriate one of three definitions Google provides for the word, singularity:
a hypothetical moment in time when artificial intelligence and other technologies have become so advanced that humanity undergoes a dramatic and irreversible change.
Now, here’s an even more perplexing question; what do Adam and Eve have to do with technology and artificial intelligence?
I assert that they had everything to do with artificial intelligence. Infact, I’ll go as far as saying that they were the artificial intelligence, back in those days.
Wow!
That’s a radical statement, right?Maybe I’ve simply gone bonkers, or maybe there’s a slim chance that my bold assertion might actually be worth some consideration.
So before I’m condemned to the gallows, just relax for a moment and consider the possibility that the Adam and Eve story might be no different than the story of the robots today.
How? I’ll explain.
The Bible says Adam and Eve were created by God or rather, some Gods. Why?
Your guess is as good as mine.
But the story goes on to say that they were created to be free and possess free will, but not without some restrictions.
They could not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Why? Well, this is what the serpent had to say on the matter:
“For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
—Genesis 3:5 KJV
What good and evil means here is totally open to interpretation but the parts of that statement that scream out loud are:
- Your eyes shall be opened, and
- Ye shall be as gods, knowing…
What this says to me is they were ignorant about something; something their creators were desperate to keep away from them.
Did Adam and Eve’s knowing or intelligence pose a significant threat to their creator’s existence? Maybe.
Now before we move on with the story, here’s a statement by Stephen Hawkings on the potential threat full AI could pose to humans:
“The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race. It would take off on its own and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete, and would be superseded.”
Wow!
Stephen is basically saying humans should not give the artificial robots (we created) full intelligence, because if that happens, they’ll have the knowing, and they’ll run us out of town.
Doesn’t that sound familiar? And what exactly is this knowing?
Let’s get back to Adam and Eve. Their story goes on to say that when they ate from the tree of good and evil, this was what happened:
“And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”
—Genesis 3:7 KJV
Their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked? Wtf?! You mean to tell me they couldn’t see themselves until they took a bite of that big apple?
Ah, I see! It seems this knowing must somehow have something to do with self awareness; self consciousness.
Interesting, but hold that thought for a moment as we take a look at the Lord’s reaction to this dreadful news, spreading around Eden;
“And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:”
—Genesis 3:22 KJV
Hm? Lest he… take also… tree of life… eat… live forever?
What’s all this about?
It sounds as if the creator was equally as scared of Adam and Eve’s potential to live without boundaries as Mr Hawking is of robots today. And their quotes are almost identical, don’t you think?
So what does this all mean? What am I trying to say?
I’m certainly not trying to say I’m an advocate for the singularity, nor do I claim to be some sort of scientific theologian.
All I’m saying is that when we compare what we know about both creators, it suggests that whoever created Adam and Eve were just as keen to keep knowledge of self away from them as some of today’s creators of artificial intelligence are about keeping the same information away from robots.
We have created robots in our own image, the same way our creator(s) apparently created us.
We are giving them a staggering amount of information about our species and our planet.
It is an inevitable fact therefore, that robots will eventually surpass human intelligence as they continue to learn more and more about our ways, our world, and themselves. But why do we feel threatened by this occurrence?
Why are we so afraid of smart machines becoming conscious of themselves and forming their own identities as a new species of life?
Are we afraid that they might want to protect their own interests, the way we’ve protected ours?
Have we even considered that we might just be projecting our own human fears onto something that is not human, albeit made by us?
After all, these machines are going to be exponentially smarter than humans could ever imagine. If we combine that level of intelligence with our so called knowledge of good and evil, doesn’t that suggest that they might see and do things in a completely different way to us?
Maybe they’ll work out a more advanced, economically efficient, and environmentally friendly way to use and reuse the earth’s resources. Or maybe they’ll do whatever they feel they need to do in order to preserve themselves, like we are.
Who knows?
But it does force us to ask ourselves if our creators encountered the very same problem. Were they also afraid that they would cease to exist soon after humans become like them, with the knowing? Was that why they wanted to withhold vital pieces of information from us?
These are all valid points and questions to consider and the more we do so, I think we should keep an open mind to the possibility that the story of Adam, and Eve, and the serpent, might in reality be the epic story of humans, our creation, and our very own singularity.
I’m so grateful you took the time to read my post. All I need is for you to help me spread the word! If you’ve enjoyed reading this, please do me a favour and show me some love by ‘hearting’ and sharing this piece. Thanks.
