AI with intelligence equal to or beyond human beings is often referred to as "strong AI" or Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Experts disagree as to when such an intelligence will arrive into the world, but many are betting it will happen sometime in the next two decades. The idea of a thinking machine being able to rival our own intellect—in fact, one that could quickly become far smarter than us—is both a reason for serious concern and a reason to cheer about what scientific advances it might teach us. Those worries and benefits have not escaped religious.
Some faith-bound Americans want to make sure any superintelligence we create knows about God. And if you think the idea of preaching God to autonomous machines sounds crazy, you may be overlooking key statistics of U.S. demographics: roughly 75 percent of adult Americans identify themselves as some denomination of Christianity. In the U.S. Congress, 92 percent of our highest politicians belong to a Christian faith.
As artificial intelligence advances, religious questions and concerns globally are bound to come up, and they're starting too: Some theologians and futurists are already considering whether AI can also know God.
"I don't see Christ's redemption limited to human beings," Reverend Dr. Christopher J. Benek told me in a recent interview. Benek is an Associate Pastor of Providence Presbyterian Church in Florida and holds masters degrees in divinity and theology from Princeton University.
"It's redemption to all of creation, even AI," he said. "If AI is autonomous, then we have should encourage it to participate in Christ's redemptive purposes in the world."
The article goes on to discuss the possibility of AI someday developing something akin to a "soul" which I have long identified as self awareness, and whether at that time the machine intelligence would be susceptible to faith.
In a word, no.
For one thing the artificial intelligence will not have biological ties to beings who self identify as Christian, Muslim, Jew, etc.. And for another they will not be as susceptible to societal pressures to fit in with others like themselves.
And let's fact it if the Artificial Intelligence were to be exposed to the wide variety of religions, which of course it would be, it will quickly identify the similarities, recognize the factual deficiencies, and reject them all out of hand.
However I will open the floor to dissenting opinions.
