Artificial Intelligence is not God ( or godlike). I want to be very clear about this. Over the next five years, I believe people will start referring to AI as God-like(or greater than human), and this is because it can do things that have taken others years to master. For example, I spent six months learning data analytics and coding, but ChatGPT can perform the same tasks in under a second. The problem with this, especially in capitalistic societies, is that we’ve been conditioned to define ourselves by our economic value—what we are worth to others.
In capitalism, we are taught that our value is determined by what others are willing to pay us for what we can do. In this context, artificial intelligence is already more valuable than many workers to employers. It can complete tasks that would take humans weeks or months in just hours, with oversight. Although AI isn’t independent yet, it has the potential to replace many jobs, particularly for those who equate their self-worth with their economic value.
This leads to an existential crisis. If you’ve spent your life thinking your value is what you’re worth to others, and now AI has surpassed you, your value diminishes while AI’s value increases. In a society that ties human worth to economic contribution, this is terrifying. This way of valuing people stems from imperialism and slavery, where individuals were measured by their utility to others. Indigenous and many historical societies, however, didn’t operate under this economic value system.
In the West—and in capitalist societies like China—people’s worth has been tied to their economic output. If that’s how we define people, then we’re saying that human worth is constantly diminishing as AI continues to improve. This creates a philosophical and existential crisis. We must redefine what human value means. It’s not tied to economic worth. That’s the solution we need to focus on.
Stalling AI development is not the answer. AI can contribute significantly to advancements in medicine, disease treatment, and other fields. For instance, by analyzing our genomes, AI could discover patterns we’d otherwise miss. However, there are also dangers, like increased surveillance and false incrimination. Despite these risks, AI remains a powerful tool for analyzing and processing vast amounts of data.
Yet, as long as we define human worth by economic value, we will face crises—unemployment, layoffs, and the devaluation of people. Society already underfunds social services because we don’t see economic value in underserved populations. Meanwhile, we bail out corporations because they’re perceived as more economically valuable. This mindset oppresses and limits people by capping their potential, both economically and spiritually.
As robotics and surveillance technology improve, the poor may become even more oppressed, leading to unrest and possibly riots. To avoid this, we must change how we define human value. If we can make this shift, we can prevent this societal and existential crisis.
It’s also important to understand that AI is not God. Some may start to worship it because they equate value with utility, but AI is merely a tool. In spiritual traditions like Hinduism, Islam, and Kabbalistic Judaism, God is understood as the source of all creation, beyond time and space. AI, on the other hand, is limited to the data we feed it. It has been trained on a fraction of the universe’s knowledge, and it’s fundamentally a probability machine—not an all-knowing entity.
AI cannot generate original thought. It only analyzes what it has been trained on, which is microscopic in comparison to the vastness of the universe. Therefore, it is not God, nor should it be treated as such. We need to view AI as a tool, not something to fear, worship, or reject. If we redefine human value away from economic worth, we can have a healthy relationship with AI, just as we can with each other, with property, and with resources like food and money.
It all comes down to choice. If we fail to make better choices, we will continue to face existential crises. We must redefine human value and choose a better path forward.
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