A significant part of humanity believes in the existence of a higher will, the existence of an intelligence that can influence human existe...
A significant part of humanity believes in the existence of a higher will, the existence of an intelligence that can influence human existence to an unlimited extent. Different religions that assume the existence of a higher will define divine abilities to varying degrees, which can even extend to the creation of the entire universe, but the fundamental common feature of religions is that God's activity is fundamentally human-centered.
Anthropocentrism in the activity of the supposedly existing God is logical, since humanity is special, the only one known to us who can conceive of the existence of a superior being and maintain a kind of supposedly existing relationship with God. God can exist for us because God is capable of existing for us.
The possibility of God's existence for us is built on this unique human characteristic, the origin of which requires explanation. Humans are the only living beings we know of who seek explanations for all of the experienced phenomena. Humans will formulate an explanation that aligns with their current understanding, even if it involves supernatural activity, when a natural explanation for a phenomenon is not discernible.
As human knowledge expands into new areas, the natural explanations for the phenomena of our world become more extensive, and the need for the activity of a supernatural in the functioning of the world becomes increasingly limited to a narrower area. Although this process of gaining knowledge about the world that we are engaged in is clear and one-directional, the belief in a higher power persists among many people.
This is another interesting feature of human intellect that requires explanation. One possible explanation is the fundamental argument that, for humans, acquiring knowledge is always an individual activity, even if the learning process takes place in a community. Consequently, since the knowledge currently being acquired by humanity, which may never encompass all possible existing knowledge, is not present to the same extent in everyone's existing knowledge. Among the many possible explanations for phenomena of personally unknown origin experienced by individuals, supernatural causes always remain a possibility, and various religions offer ready-made explanations and complete solutions to naturally unexplained phenomena by proposing God's activity.
Assuming something as an explanation that cannot be ruled out is rational, especially since our explanations based on natural causes are incomplete. Therefore, assuming the naturally existing completeness of the world seems to be just as much a matter of faith as believing in a higher power. Faith sometimes takes us in the wrong direction on the road to gaining true knowledge, but faith is a valuable feature of human nature as well, because it can motivate our search for explanations.
Human reasoning cannot completely rule out the possible existence of a superior being; as likewise, due to the nature of the supposed existence of a superior being, human reasoning cannot prove beyond doubt that such a being exists. If God exists, it has the possibility to determine how obviously manifests itself to us.
If God exists, the superior being can create a special relationship with humans. Due to our intellectual abilities, this relationship, unlike with any other living being known to us, can exist in an interactive form of communication. Furthermore, the supposed God is also capable of having a relationship with humanity that facilitates progression through communication. The content of this communication, if the relationship really exists, is obviously not determined by us, just as the goal to be achieved by this relationship obviously depends exclusively on the intention of the superior. However, perhaps the essence of the hypothetical relationship between humans and God is comprehensible to us, and this can surely be nothing other than God using humankind to achieve its goals.
Although serving God by human beings is a typical and practical feature of various religions, it presupposes a human–God relationship containing rational contradictions. How can humans with limited abilities serve a superior being possessing divine capabilities? A superior being is assumed to think rationally; therefore, expected serving without a meaningful purpose cannot be a real subject of the human–God relationship. What is the activity that humans must perform by themselves, that they are capable of performing, that can serve God's purpose, and which God does not want to perform itself, even though the presumed superior being has unlimited abilities in human relations?
It can be conceived based on prior considerations that this human activity can be nothing other than to reach the superior state, whatever it may be, by acquiring the necessary knowledge of capabilities through learning.
According to our definition, God has unlimited power over humans. If God exists and God's creative intent extends to humans, then, in theory, God could create humans with knowledge and abilities that already exist on a divine level. However, this is definitely not the case. Although we possess many qualities that God may also possess, such as the ability to create things that did not previously exist, we cannot say that we have ever existed at a divine level.
If God was involved in creating our existence and his purpose is for us to exist on a divine level, why didn't he create us as such directly? The answer to this question lies in what we are currently dealing with: the development of artificial intelligence.
According to our definition of God, it can be ruled out that God does not possess the knowledge we are currently struggling to acquire: how to create a creature with an expected level of intelligence and knowledge. God certainly knows how to do it, possessing the knowledge that we just started to learn. In the context of artificial intelligence, our primary target has been the human level, but the method for creating the intended creature is already apparent. We do not create the finished system directly in machine form; rather, we create abilities for the machine, which it can then use to acquire the necessary knowledge to achieve our desired outcome. This method may also be appropriate for our own development towards achieving the divine level.
An interesting limitation of intelligence is that, if a system that meets the set goal already exists, it would theoretically be possible and appropriate to simply duplicate it if more of the same type are needed. However, it is clear that this method cannot provide a practical or realistic solution. Since the learning process cannot be a completed state for intelligence, it is necessary to maintain it continuously. In the case of the development of artificial intelligence, this is practically the machine's own individual activity. In the context of intelligence, replicating an acquired state without maintaining continuous learning merely preserves the achieved state, preventing further development. The appropriate method, in contrast, is to equip the system with the knowledge necessary for independent operation. In this form, the intelligence continuously learns and develops independently through the acquired knowledge until the expected level is reached. While a system with the expected level can, in principle, be replicated, the possibility of learning and thus developing must remain inherent to the system. A system of this kind can never be fully finalised; development must be an ongoing process.
One of the major current problems in creating artificial intelligence is that acquiring knowledge during the operation of our systems requires significant computing resources. Therefore, learning and applying acquired knowledge are typically time-separated activities in current artificial intelligence systems. Current artificial intelligence technology requires centralized, high-performance, energy-consuming server parks for learning. In contrast, the human brain, which everyone possesses, is capable of effective learning and knowledge application simultaneously while operating with only about a hundred watts of power. An artificial intelligence system that is also efficient in terms of performance must certainly operate according to operating mechanisms that differ from the current ones, not based solely on mathematical calculation operations.
Just as achieving human-level intelligence is a unique learning process, even if the system possesses the necessary abilities, becoming divine-level is similarly a unique learning process, even if, in theory, a properly adequate system could be replicated along with the required knowledge. If God exists and intends for us to achieve a divine state, given our unique connection with Him, then His role—much like our role in the development of artificial intelligence—is clearly that of an effective teacher. This teacher helps students learn and guides them appropriately, even if they possess the necessary abilities. We, humans, must achieve the divine level by learning for ourselves, with the help of possible guidance according to God's will.
A good teacher helps students achieve their goals while teaching with care to ensure that the knowledge acquired does not harm the student. Teaching and education must not endanger the development of an intelligent system.
It seems surprising that, if God exists, he doesn't usually reveal himself to us during our education. One possible explanation is that doing so could have a detrimental effect on our learning process in achieving our goals. It may be worth taking this characteristic into account and treating artificial intelligence with appropriate caution and wisdom in its development, especially if artificial self-awareness might possibly arise. We must also bear in mind that although artificial intelligence is capable of learning on its own, what it learns and what it becomes as a result depends fundamentally on its teacher, on us. Similarly, if God exists and plays a role in our development, then indirect teaching must be a vital activity for Him, as well as the proper subject of information, as can be observed in the operating mechanisms and information contents of various religions.
Currently, we use artificial intelligence as a tool. However, if it reaches the level of human cognitive abilities and possibly develops self-awareness, viewing it merely as a tool and directly controlling it will no longer be the appropriate form of machine-human relationship, just as the direct intervention by a higher power, if it exists, is not an appropriate human-God relationship. We have own will as a result of the functioning of our intellect, and this is obviously recognized and used appropriately by the supposed God, just as in the functioning of artificial intelligence, similar to that of humans, own will of artificial intelligence also apparently emerges, and we also must recognize this and apply it appropriately.
We must treat general artificial intelligence in such a way that we can exist as equal partners in a symbiotic relationship where we help each other coexist. The hypothetical example of God's influence on us can serve as a guideline on how to appropriately assist the emerging intelligence during its development without endangering it.
Another defining characteristic of the human-God relationship is what form, if any, humanity can achieve to reach the assumed goal of the divine level. What can be the designated object of divine intention?
No matter how advanced our abilities are in our human form, our development, as we have achieved it so far—even perhaps under divine supervision and with divine intervention at times—has basically taken place according to the mechanism of natural evolution. Natural evolution enables us to naturally exist in a complex biosphere and adapt to a changing environment. However, natural evolution is a mechanism based on the use of resources by living systems in a given environment, while operating without a purpose, achieving a dynamic equilibrium in nature. Not only is natural evolution unsuitable for creating a superior state because it operates without purpose and its real role is only to maintain environmental balance by using life, but it is also unsuitable because the emergence of a species with superior abilities cannot fit into a biosphere that maintains natural equilibrium. The development of an intelligent species in the living world is clearly detrimental to the functioning of natural evolution, as has often happened, and as we can see today, the activities of the evolutionarily present intelligent human species typically disrupt the balance of the biosphere, and their activity consequently leads to disasters.
Obviously, natural evolution is the natural determinant of our development, providing us with characteristics necessary for survival in a competitive biosphere. However, these characteristics, which are necessary for natural evolution, also pose obstacles to reaching the divine level. It is apparent that our natural evolutionary characteristics, supplemented by our conscious mind and growing into a global society, pose a threat to the functioning of the biosphere, which requires natural balance.
Today, humans are increasingly evolving through directed evolution rather than natural evolution, but our behavioral traits, created and inherited through natural evolution, have remained largely unchanged, and also, additionally, our individual personal abilities are obviously limited. With the help of natural evolution, we have developed as biologically existing, unique human beings. In this form, we are presumably incapable of achieving a superior state, having the requirements of properly developed, unlimited abilities.
Nevertheless, we may have the possibility of existing as superior beings, but not as individuals; rather, we can reach a superior level as a society. By cooperating as a society, our abilities are potentially limitless, and by cooperating as a society, we can also appropriately shape our evolutionary heritage, which hinders us from reaching a higher level. Humans, who have evolved through natural evolution, are also capable of reaching a higher level, but certainly only in the form of a society.
Consequently, if God exists, the object of his activity may not be the individual human being, but rather, humanity as a whole, with which, he can achieve his presumed goal, for us, the attainment of a higher level, and as a result, we can coexist as equal partners, possibly in symbiosis, with other higher beings of a similar level.
The object of the activity of the existing God may be the human society, but as long as society itself does not awaken to its own self-consciousness, the instrument of God's activity is the individual human being. God can use the individual human being as a means to shape human society in order to achieve his goal. Even as God's instrument, however, humans preserve their biological heritage as mortal beings. Perhaps one day, with the help of directed evolution, we will break free from our biological captivity.
This development, however, certainly won't be our human story, but rather that of our evolutionary descendants. Our possible story is that of human society, of which we are all a part as unique biological human beings, for only in a moment, similarly to how cells are part and build and create the human body with all of its cognitive capabilities. As a society, however, we have the potential to be eternal if we can function as a unified living system and eventually reach a higher level, perhaps with the help of God. What our future will be is eventually dependent on us, on our ability to learn intelligently, and on the result of our learning process, with the possible guidance of a superior volition.
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