Can cybernetic immortality replace Christian resurrection?
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The AI revolution includes the hope of some for immortality by uploading the information that makes humans what they are into powerful machines. Does this new hope for immortality replace the belief of Christians in a physical resurrection?
Smart people for a long time have been trying to warn the rest of us what was coming. But nothing brought the reality of Artificial Intelligence to the world more than ChatGPT and other consumer forms of AI such as Bing. The AI investor gold rush is on, ChatGPT alone has over 100 million users, and billions use AI everyday through search engines and lots of other tools without even knowing it.
The accelerating pace of technological revolutions and now particularly of AI is raising many hopes, questions — and concerns. There’s plenty of talk about concerns. We’ve been told we will all die, and soon. It’s also suggested that as smart as it is, maybe it can solve our intractable problems like warfare and climate change, maybe without even disturbing our comfortable lives too much.
Here we will talk about the hope for what is sometimes called cybernetic immortality. First it was only the purview of science fiction writers, but for some time some have been saying the way technology is advancing there is the real possibility some day that we will be able to load what makes us us into a computer or some version of one. That way we could experience an unending series of upgrades, just like Apple watches.
Is cybernetic immortality possible?
Just for kicks I asked ChatGPT if cybernetic immortality was a possibility, and if so, when. Here’s what she/he/it said:
“Cybernetic immortality, the concept of achieving immortality through technological means such as advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, and cybernetics, remains a topic of science fiction and speculative discussion. As of my last knowledge update in September 2021, there is no scientific evidence or technology that can guarantee or even suggest that such a form of immortality is achievable in the foreseeable future.”
It then gave a list of reasons why the possibility and timeline is unpredictable. It’s a bit strange that it said this was based on its last…
