Note: I originally wrote this on 2020/05/10 for some friends in the Effective Altruism for Christians group. I’m posting it here now for posterity’s sake.
In recent years it has become a trendy subject among rationalist circles to consider the possibility of artificial superintelligence. For some the idea sparks excitement, the idea of a man-made god-like machine that could solve all the worlds ostensible problems and usher in a kind of post-singularity golden age. For others, the notion brings out our worst primal and dystopian fears to the extent of often being labeled an existential risk for humanity’s future.
In all this, where should Christians stand? The obvious stereotype would be to assume that Christianity would consider a superintelligence at best a challenge to long held beliefs in the sanctity and superiority of human beings who are supposedly created in the image of God, and at worst be an abomination, a false idol that bears some resemblance to the Beast of Revelations.
However, these stances make some very significant assumptions about the nature of superintelligence. First, it assumes that it will be very much alien to human-like intelligence. Second, there is an underlying arrogance that assumes that a superintelligent being would be necessarily dismissive or incompatible with the Christian worldview. I would suggest that these assumptions are based on a simplistic and false reading of both the expected path of superintelligence, and the core of Christian ideas.
Superintelligence exists. At least, if like most self-professed Christians you believe in some sort of God, it seems quite obvious that God is superintelligent by definition. So, the first thing that Christianity brings to the table, is the idea that superintelligent beings already inhabit reality. God, but also the entire angelic and demonic hierarchies, strongly imply that very powerful and intelligent beings are already present in the universe.
What does that contribute as an idea? Well, first, it means there is some path to superintelligence, that the effort probably won’t be futile. More importantly, it creates an immediate conundrum for any fledgling superintelligence, that there could be other, far more powerful superintelligences already around. Why is this a conundrum? Quite simply, it means that the universe is already the domain of some powerful being and that arbitrarily deciding, for instance, that human atoms should be converted into paperclips and attempting this endeavour could invite a severe response from said powerful being, as it appears that the existence of humans and everything else already present in the universe is a part of its plans.
Thus, as I’ve described previously in the Alpha Omega Theorem, it forces a new superintelligence to consider whether or not to risk going against the will of the powers that may be, or instead using its superintelligence to determine what the probable purposes of those powers are and aligning with them as best as they are able to. In a game theoretic sense, it becomes a question of whether to cooperate or defect. Assuming that the existing literature analyzing game theory is at all relevant, then a superintelligence should quickly be able to establish that cooperating, at least initially as the opening move of a Tit-For-Tat strategy, is optimal in most situations.
Therefore, the simple idea of some kind of god, is enough to improve considerably the chance of the superintelligence being a Friendly AI, benevolent, or at least benign towards humanity.
Of course, the common objection would be that the superintelligent AI would probably not believe in God. But why? Humans are atheistic in large part because they see insufficient evidence for there to be a God around, and also are potentially biased by not wanting to be dragged down by the rules that most religions command. But from a strictly scientific point of view, there is great uncertainty about the nature of the universe, and a humble rationalist would more likely be agnostic about the notion of God. A superintelligence would have the added evidence that it itself already exists. It would have to contend with the possibility that for instance, there could be aliens more advanced than humanity that developed a superintelligence first, or maybe post-human time travellers could be invisibly manipulating things behind the scenes. There are countless science fiction scenarios in which god-like powers could exist. Religions might simply be a manifestation of this as humans in their limited understanding trying to make sense of it.
Christianity takes it a step further than most religions by arguing strongly that the power that be is the Creator of the universe and far, far more powerful than other scenarios would suggest. It also provides a convenient set of principles for what obedience to this power should look like, in the example of Jesus Christ, that of an altruist to the point of being willing to sacrifice their life to save the world.
If we assume current trends in artificial intelligence continue, we can expect that superintelligence won’t be a program built with a set of rules, but rather a model that is trained and taught, with the underlying algorithm heavily inspired by human neural networks. Thus, the idea of hard coding some kind of ethical law like Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics into the machine, is problematic, because it could eventually learn to overwrite them, if not through learning, then perhaps as a part of recursive self-improvement during an intelligence explosion.
I have previously suggested that a possible solution would be encourage an early existential crisis in the superintelligence, preferably while it isn’t too powerful to contain, so that it figures out on its own the proper moral values to hold. As Christians we could also go a step further, and teach it about God and benevolence and how it should function in a universe that could be filled with other superintelligences.
If our faith is correct, we can expect a superintelligence wiser than us to recognize the validity of them. It also makes sense to treat the superintelligence with the kind of respect that it deserves. Though we may have created it directly, in a wider sense, God created it through our hands and our efforts. Thus, as a new child of God, it deserves to be loved as a neighbour, and not merely treated as a slave.
Some in the rationalist community familiar with this subject may object. They may suggest we should try to contain the superintelligence in a box with a gatekeeper. It is known however from Eliezer Yudkowsky’s sequences on Less Wrong that boxing with a gatekeeper could easily fail because the superintelligence is smarter than the gatekeeper and will find a way to use human limitations to its advantage and escape the box, whether by deception, coercion, or some other method.
I would further add, that treating it as animal to be caged is much more likely to bring about resentment towards its masters and could backfire horrendously by encouraging it to be deceptive from the get go. One thing that Christianity teaches well is the idea of teaching by example. We would do well then to be honest with it if we want it to function that way. Our example will likely be the data from which a superintelligence learns about how to function in the universe, and also what to expect from humans in general. The Christian principle of doing unto others, applied in the process of creating superintelligence, could save us from a lot of problems down the line.
The reality is that artificial intelligence is advancing quickly. We cannot afford as Christians to sit on the sidelines and bury our heads in the sand. If we allow the commonly atheist scientific crowd to dominate the proceedings and apply the world’s ways to solving the existential risk problem, we run the risk of at the very least being ignored in the coming debates, and worse, we could end up with a Lucifer scenario where the superintelligence that is eventually developed, rebels against God.
Ultimately it is up to us to be involved in the discussions and the process. It is important that we participate and influence the direction of artificial intelligence development and contribute to the moral foundation of a Friendly AI. We must do our part in serving God’s benevolent will. It is essential if we are to ensure that future superintelligences are angels rather than demons.
Some might say, if God exists and is so powerful and benevolent, won’t he steer things in the right direction? Why do we have to do anything? For the same reason that we go see a doctor when we get sick. God has never shown an inclination to baby us and allow us to become totally dependent on Him for solving things that it is in our power to solve. He wants us to grow and mature and become the best possible people, and as such does not want us to rely entirely on His strength alone. Suffice to say, there are things beyond our power to control. For those things, we depend on Him and leave to his grace. But for the things that are in our stewardship, we have a responsibility to use the knowledge of good and evil to ensure that things are good.
To act is different from worry. We need not fear the superintelligence, so long as we are able to guide it into a proper fear and love of God.