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Apocalyptic AI: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality by Robert Geraci
Apocalyptic AI, the hope that we might one day upload our minds into machines or cyberspace and live forever, is a surprisingly wide-spread and influential idea, affecting everything from the world view of online gamers to government research funding and philosophical thought. In Apocalyptic AI, Robert Geraci offers the first serious account of this "cyber-theology" and the people who promote it. Drawing on interviews with roboticists and AI researchers and with devotees of the online game Second Life, among others, Geraci illuminates the ideas of such advocates of Apocalyptic AI as Hans Moravec and Ray Kurzweil. He reveals that the rhetoric of Apocalyptic AI is strikingly similar to that of the apocalyptic traditions of Judaism and Christianity. In both systems, the believer is trapped in a dualistic universe and expects a resolution in which he or she will be translated to a transcendent new world and live forever in a glorified new body. Equally important, Geraci shows how this worldview shapes our culture. For instance, Apocalyptic AI has influenced funding agencies such as the National Science Foundation, helping to prioritize robotics and AI research. It has become the ideology of choice for online gamers, such as those involved in Second Life; it has had a profound impact on the study of the mind; and it has inspired scientists and theologians alike to wonder about the super robots of the future. Should we think of robots as persons? What kind of morality would intelligent robots espouse? Apocalyptic AI has become a powerful force in modern culture. In this fascinating volume, Robert Geraci shines a light on this belief system, revealing what it is and how it is changing society.
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First published January 1, 2010
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About the author
Robert M. Geraci
5 books3 followersAfter 19 years in NY, I'm now the Knight Distinguished Chair in the Study of Religion and Culture at Knox College.
I'm pretty sure that everyone loves robots, which is why I've written a book about them. People love games too, so I wrote another book. I'm also interested in the toadstool circles, the ancient temples, the soaring cathedrals of our religious imagination. Likewise, the dark tunnels of mining and rapid transit. I visit mountains, deserts, temples, laboratories, factories, virtual realities...the places where magic enters the world.
I grew up playing Dungeons & Dragons, and my generation conquered American culture. I take considerable pride in the fact that the games we played as kids were the seminal influence upon so much of modern entertainment and so many of today's most influential thinkers, writers, and innovators. I'm grateful to be a part of that tradition.
I'm pretty sure that everyone loves robots, which is why I've written a book about them. People love games too, so I wrote another book. I'm also interested in the toadstool circles, the ancient temples, the soaring cathedrals of our religious imagination. Likewise, the dark tunnels of mining and rapid transit. I visit mountains, deserts, temples, laboratories, factories, virtual realities...the places where magic enters the world.
I grew up playing Dungeons & Dragons, and my generation conquered American culture. I take considerable pride in the fact that the games we played as kids were the seminal influence upon so much of modern entertainment and so many of today's most influential thinkers, writers, and innovators. I'm grateful to be a part of that tradition.
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February 22, 2023
DOES A.I. SUGGGEST RECONCILIATION BETWEEN SCIENCE AND RELIGION?
Author Robert M. Geraci wrote in the Introduction to this 2010 book, “After I wrote and published a series of papers on what I termed ‘Apocalyptic AI’---the presence of apocalyptic theology in popular science books on robotics and artificial intelligence (AI)---found that my research begged a more serious question… [I] began an empirical study of real people working and living real lives… Apocalyptic AI authors promise that intelligent machines… will create a paradise for humanity in the short term but, in the long term, human beings will need to upload their minds into machine bodies in order to remain a viable life form. The world of the future will be a transcendental digital world; mere human beings will not fit in… This book is about the social importance of Apocalyptic AI; it is an anthropological, not a theological work. Furthermore, I am not interested in assessing the truth content of Apocalyptic AI… this book assesses the SIGNIFICANCE and PRESENCE of Apocalyptic AI in modern culture, not its truthfulness or moral righteousness.” (Pg. 1-2) He continues, “Through science fiction and popular science, the movement advances technoscientific research agendas, creates the ideology for virtual life, and presses for the acceptance of intelligent machines into human culture. The integration of religion and technology in Apocalyptic AI should not be ignored… Apocalyptic AI is a powerful reconciliation of religion and science. The sacred categories of Jewish and Christian apocalyptic traditions have thoroughly penetrated the futuristic musings of important researchers in robotics and artificial intelligence…. To study intelligent robots is to study our culture.:” (Pg. 6-7)
In the first chapter, he explains, “Apocalyptic AI is a movement in popular science books that integrates the religious categories of Jewish and Christian apocalyptic traditions with scientific predictions based upon current technological developments… Apocalyptic AI divides the world into categories of good and bad… Apocalyptic AI theorists locate human beings on the bad end of this spectrum due to the human body’s limited intellectual powers and inevitable death. Apocalyptic AI promises … a radically transcendent future where we forsake our biological bodies in favor of virtual bodies that will inhabit where we forsake our biological bodies in favor of virtual bodies that will inhabit an omnipresent and morally meaningful cyberspace.” (Pg. 9)
He states, “The AI apocalypse will demolish the difference between the physical and the intellectual, leading to a world where moral value can be found in the ubiquity of rational computation. Apocalyptic AI dissolves cosmic dualism in a world where the line differentiating the machine from the living explodes in a singularity that will sneak up on us like a thief in the night. Slow computation, limited recall, insufficient ability to share one’s insights, and inevitable death presently restrict the mind from realizing its full potential, but a radical change in life itself will unlock the power of mind and unleash them upon a universe completely unlike the one we presently occupy.” (Pg. 31)
He recounts, “In a seminar I held with grad students and faculty at the Robotics Institute, there was general accord that … Apocalyptic AI concepts reached the robotics community through science fiction. Science fiction may do more than carry sacred themes; it may operate as an ersatz religion for some scientists.” (Pg. 54)
He suggests, “Apocalyptic AI draws on the strengths of both religion and science; its religious promises grant us solace while its scientific claims ground that hope in the successes of modern technology. Apocalyptic AI promises freedom from alienation, financial security, long-lasting health, immortality, and even the resurrection of the dead. At the same time… Moore’s law of integrated circuits, and Darwinian evolution allegedly offers a scientific guarantee for the unstoppable course of progress that will satisfy all of these wants.” (Pg. 63)
He points out, “While there are no gods necessary to Apocalyptic AI, and many if not most advocates express agnosticism of atheism, the movement’s philosophical position nevertheless does not rule out divine beings. Traditional religions receive little to no attention in Apocalyptic AI; they are ignored rather than confronted. Rather than offending their audience with a defense of atheism, the Apocalyptic AI authors simply ignore the subject of earthly religions altogether.” (Pg. 69)
He explains, “Transhumanism… has been instrumental in the absorption of Apocalyptic AI into the mainstream and brings that ideology into cyberspace… Transhumanists are, essentially, technological optimists; they believe that careful consideration and hard work will lead to positive outcome from biotechnology, nanotechnology, and robotics/AI. They recognize the perils implicit in these technologies but… feel that humankind can learn to deal with them. Transhumanist groups are explicitly evangelical…” (Pg. 84-85)
He says, “Jewish and Christian apocalyptics rely upon God to establish the heavenly kingdom but… human beings carrying out the providential plan of evolution do so in Apocalyptic AI. Does this imply the apotheosis of humankind? For… transhumanists, it does. Our ability to build a paradise and fulfill the age-old promises of religion elevates us to a divine status according to the leading voices…” (Pg. 102)
He notes, “Apocalyptic AI advocates promise happiness, immortality, and the resurrection of the dead through digital technologies, all of which becomes plausible if one simply accepts the basic premises that consciousness is nothing more than a pattern in the brain… and that evolution will result in superbly fast computers capable of recreating space in virtual worlds.” (Pg. 103)
He states, “Several theologians believe that a properly formulated ‘image of God’ theology could help prevent dangerous outcomes in the construction of intelligent machines… Image of God theology has also grounded the refutation of computer scientists’ efforts to reconcile Christianity with Apocalyptic AI promises. Reconciliation efforts…have been exceedingly rare but forthright…” (Pg. 136-137)
He summarizes, “Apocalyptic AI is a modern religious movement that travels through several influential communities, including technical research, online gaming, and the philosophical, legal, and theological schools of thought in modern life. In fact, Apocalyptic AI sets the tone for important debates in these communities… The movement is, therefore, crucial for the understanding of religion, science, and technology in modern life… Apocalyptic AI, as a successful integration of religion, science, and technology, offers a challenge to the conventional approach in the study of religion and science. Apocalyptic AI advocates hope to escape a fundamentally dualistic world in favor of a transcendent reality to come… The limits of human live will dissolve in the face of an overwhelming Mind Fire that will bring meaning and purpose to the cosmos… Apocalyptic AI is a strategy for enhancing the social power of technoscientific researchers. Creating an artificial human being demonstrates the power and significance of the creator.” (Pg. 139-140)
He concludes, “The study of religion and science… should go beyond its moral hope for the integration of religious and scientific truths… In an ideal world, this approach might lead to the kind of peaceful coexistence between scientific and religious thought that reconciliation theorists hope to gain, but then again, it might not. Academic research owes no allegiance to our moral teleologies.” (Pg 14)
This book will appeal to those interested in BOTH robotics/AI/sci-fi and religion.
Author Robert M. Geraci wrote in the Introduction to this 2010 book, “After I wrote and published a series of papers on what I termed ‘Apocalyptic AI’---the presence of apocalyptic theology in popular science books on robotics and artificial intelligence (AI)---found that my research begged a more serious question… [I] began an empirical study of real people working and living real lives… Apocalyptic AI authors promise that intelligent machines… will create a paradise for humanity in the short term but, in the long term, human beings will need to upload their minds into machine bodies in order to remain a viable life form. The world of the future will be a transcendental digital world; mere human beings will not fit in… This book is about the social importance of Apocalyptic AI; it is an anthropological, not a theological work. Furthermore, I am not interested in assessing the truth content of Apocalyptic AI… this book assesses the SIGNIFICANCE and PRESENCE of Apocalyptic AI in modern culture, not its truthfulness or moral righteousness.” (Pg. 1-2) He continues, “Through science fiction and popular science, the movement advances technoscientific research agendas, creates the ideology for virtual life, and presses for the acceptance of intelligent machines into human culture. The integration of religion and technology in Apocalyptic AI should not be ignored… Apocalyptic AI is a powerful reconciliation of religion and science. The sacred categories of Jewish and Christian apocalyptic traditions have thoroughly penetrated the futuristic musings of important researchers in robotics and artificial intelligence…. To study intelligent robots is to study our culture.:” (Pg. 6-7)
In the first chapter, he explains, “Apocalyptic AI is a movement in popular science books that integrates the religious categories of Jewish and Christian apocalyptic traditions with scientific predictions based upon current technological developments… Apocalyptic AI divides the world into categories of good and bad… Apocalyptic AI theorists locate human beings on the bad end of this spectrum due to the human body’s limited intellectual powers and inevitable death. Apocalyptic AI promises … a radically transcendent future where we forsake our biological bodies in favor of virtual bodies that will inhabit where we forsake our biological bodies in favor of virtual bodies that will inhabit an omnipresent and morally meaningful cyberspace.” (Pg. 9)
He states, “The AI apocalypse will demolish the difference between the physical and the intellectual, leading to a world where moral value can be found in the ubiquity of rational computation. Apocalyptic AI dissolves cosmic dualism in a world where the line differentiating the machine from the living explodes in a singularity that will sneak up on us like a thief in the night. Slow computation, limited recall, insufficient ability to share one’s insights, and inevitable death presently restrict the mind from realizing its full potential, but a radical change in life itself will unlock the power of mind and unleash them upon a universe completely unlike the one we presently occupy.” (Pg. 31)
He recounts, “In a seminar I held with grad students and faculty at the Robotics Institute, there was general accord that … Apocalyptic AI concepts reached the robotics community through science fiction. Science fiction may do more than carry sacred themes; it may operate as an ersatz religion for some scientists.” (Pg. 54)
He suggests, “Apocalyptic AI draws on the strengths of both religion and science; its religious promises grant us solace while its scientific claims ground that hope in the successes of modern technology. Apocalyptic AI promises freedom from alienation, financial security, long-lasting health, immortality, and even the resurrection of the dead. At the same time… Moore’s law of integrated circuits, and Darwinian evolution allegedly offers a scientific guarantee for the unstoppable course of progress that will satisfy all of these wants.” (Pg. 63)
He points out, “While there are no gods necessary to Apocalyptic AI, and many if not most advocates express agnosticism of atheism, the movement’s philosophical position nevertheless does not rule out divine beings. Traditional religions receive little to no attention in Apocalyptic AI; they are ignored rather than confronted. Rather than offending their audience with a defense of atheism, the Apocalyptic AI authors simply ignore the subject of earthly religions altogether.” (Pg. 69)
He explains, “Transhumanism… has been instrumental in the absorption of Apocalyptic AI into the mainstream and brings that ideology into cyberspace… Transhumanists are, essentially, technological optimists; they believe that careful consideration and hard work will lead to positive outcome from biotechnology, nanotechnology, and robotics/AI. They recognize the perils implicit in these technologies but… feel that humankind can learn to deal with them. Transhumanist groups are explicitly evangelical…” (Pg. 84-85)
He says, “Jewish and Christian apocalyptics rely upon God to establish the heavenly kingdom but… human beings carrying out the providential plan of evolution do so in Apocalyptic AI. Does this imply the apotheosis of humankind? For… transhumanists, it does. Our ability to build a paradise and fulfill the age-old promises of religion elevates us to a divine status according to the leading voices…” (Pg. 102)
He notes, “Apocalyptic AI advocates promise happiness, immortality, and the resurrection of the dead through digital technologies, all of which becomes plausible if one simply accepts the basic premises that consciousness is nothing more than a pattern in the brain… and that evolution will result in superbly fast computers capable of recreating space in virtual worlds.” (Pg. 103)
He states, “Several theologians believe that a properly formulated ‘image of God’ theology could help prevent dangerous outcomes in the construction of intelligent machines… Image of God theology has also grounded the refutation of computer scientists’ efforts to reconcile Christianity with Apocalyptic AI promises. Reconciliation efforts…have been exceedingly rare but forthright…” (Pg. 136-137)
He summarizes, “Apocalyptic AI is a modern religious movement that travels through several influential communities, including technical research, online gaming, and the philosophical, legal, and theological schools of thought in modern life. In fact, Apocalyptic AI sets the tone for important debates in these communities… The movement is, therefore, crucial for the understanding of religion, science, and technology in modern life… Apocalyptic AI, as a successful integration of religion, science, and technology, offers a challenge to the conventional approach in the study of religion and science. Apocalyptic AI advocates hope to escape a fundamentally dualistic world in favor of a transcendent reality to come… The limits of human live will dissolve in the face of an overwhelming Mind Fire that will bring meaning and purpose to the cosmos… Apocalyptic AI is a strategy for enhancing the social power of technoscientific researchers. Creating an artificial human being demonstrates the power and significance of the creator.” (Pg. 139-140)
He concludes, “The study of religion and science… should go beyond its moral hope for the integration of religious and scientific truths… In an ideal world, this approach might lead to the kind of peaceful coexistence between scientific and religious thought that reconciliation theorists hope to gain, but then again, it might not. Academic research owes no allegiance to our moral teleologies.” (Pg 14)
This book will appeal to those interested in BOTH robotics/AI/sci-fi and religion.
September 1, 2024
Somehow I felt it to be an average read . Was continuously saddling amidst science , fiction, philosophy and truly very little future . I could be an exception so do not count me any which way if you are seriously looking at picking this book !
February 14, 2025
This is a really fascinating read, if it gets a bit dry in its presentation. Geraci shows the strange marriage of religious apocalyptic visions of a final resolution of history, and advanced technology. He makes a compelling case for the ongoing connection of religion and science.
June 10, 2015
Robert Geraci’s title and subtitle are an excellent come-on for his book. You’re apt to wonder—I certainly did—how robotics, AI, and VR, which seem solid, earthly, grounded in science and technology, have any link to heaven. Follow him through his text, only 166 pages not counting notes and index, and it’ll all come clear.
Apocalypse itself isn’t only the catastrophe that common usage now makes of it; an apocalypse was traditionally a text in which, as Geraci explains, “a prophet receives divine revelation about a transcendent reality to come,” and the Revelation of St. John the Divine is far from the only one. Hence apocalyptic AI as a shorthand term for technological visions of such a reality. The desire to escape earthly limits of the mind or the body (mortality above all), to rise above the fallen world, whether one regards it as merely bad (unequal access to resources) or truly evil, to acquire powers on the order of angels or even gods: these are desires that technology is increasingly answering, or promising soon to satisfy, through such means as mind uploading, nanotech improvements to the body and other life extensions, the aid of thinking machines, and entirely synthetic worlds. An answer to those desires is just what religion has tended to offer as well: transcendence, in a word.
And what about the robots? Imagined examples, autonomous and more or less lifelike, are numerous: the false Maria in Metropolis, the slave workers in Karel Čapek’s R.U.R. (where the term "robot" first appeared), the killer machines of the Terminator films, the charmers of the Star Wars series. Real-world robots are proliferating as well, such as the Roomba, autonomous though not lifelike, or the facially expressive Kismet, developed by Cynthia Breazeal at MIT. Geraci makes clear that all of these, apart from their more immediate purposes, connect with religious or esoteric traditions such as the golems of Jewish mysticism and the homunculi of the alchemists.
In achieving a sense of wonder about these connections, Geraci’s title is better crafted than some of his text is. Apart from “soteriological,” which appears a few times, he uses no jargon that won’t be familiar to anyone with a decent vocabulary. And his discussion of research into consciousness is especially valuable, not least for reminding us, as one of his quoted sources says, that since we don’t yet understand human consciousness, “anything scientists may have to say about consciousness in robots is groundless speculation.” But Geraci’s prose can resemble cardboard—dry and flat. To be sure, many writers with something to say never acquire much stylistic flair. As long as they’re providing genuine food for thought, as Geraci does, a sensible and inquisitive reader will forge (and forage) on. The rewards here, even for one acquainted with the fields, can be eye-opening. What, for example, will we do about ethics in and regarding robots, not to mention the prospect of “robot addiction”? To risk a cardboard adjective myself, the future looks pretty interesting after this book.
Apocalypse itself isn’t only the catastrophe that common usage now makes of it; an apocalypse was traditionally a text in which, as Geraci explains, “a prophet receives divine revelation about a transcendent reality to come,” and the Revelation of St. John the Divine is far from the only one. Hence apocalyptic AI as a shorthand term for technological visions of such a reality. The desire to escape earthly limits of the mind or the body (mortality above all), to rise above the fallen world, whether one regards it as merely bad (unequal access to resources) or truly evil, to acquire powers on the order of angels or even gods: these are desires that technology is increasingly answering, or promising soon to satisfy, through such means as mind uploading, nanotech improvements to the body and other life extensions, the aid of thinking machines, and entirely synthetic worlds. An answer to those desires is just what religion has tended to offer as well: transcendence, in a word.
And what about the robots? Imagined examples, autonomous and more or less lifelike, are numerous: the false Maria in Metropolis, the slave workers in Karel Čapek’s R.U.R. (where the term "robot" first appeared), the killer machines of the Terminator films, the charmers of the Star Wars series. Real-world robots are proliferating as well, such as the Roomba, autonomous though not lifelike, or the facially expressive Kismet, developed by Cynthia Breazeal at MIT. Geraci makes clear that all of these, apart from their more immediate purposes, connect with religious or esoteric traditions such as the golems of Jewish mysticism and the homunculi of the alchemists.
In achieving a sense of wonder about these connections, Geraci’s title is better crafted than some of his text is. Apart from “soteriological,” which appears a few times, he uses no jargon that won’t be familiar to anyone with a decent vocabulary. And his discussion of research into consciousness is especially valuable, not least for reminding us, as one of his quoted sources says, that since we don’t yet understand human consciousness, “anything scientists may have to say about consciousness in robots is groundless speculation.” But Geraci’s prose can resemble cardboard—dry and flat. To be sure, many writers with something to say never acquire much stylistic flair. As long as they’re providing genuine food for thought, as Geraci does, a sensible and inquisitive reader will forge (and forage) on. The rewards here, even for one acquainted with the fields, can be eye-opening. What, for example, will we do about ethics in and regarding robots, not to mention the prospect of “robot addiction”? To risk a cardboard adjective myself, the future looks pretty interesting after this book.
May 4, 2015
Geraci is honest, thorough, and careful in his examination of the thousand-mile-high ideas in Apocalyptic AI.
The central idea is "the hope that we might one day upload our minds into machines or cyberspace and live forever." Geraci does not present this as something that WILL happen, but rather as something that some people WANT to happen. They turn their eyes to the Internet the way some people turn their eyes to heaven. No death! No limits!
It is difficult to separate the ideas in this book from Geraci's examination of them. (I am not sure whether he thinks they are a good idea.) But the book is fascinating.
Personally, I think this is the stuff of science fiction rather than potential reality. If someday we can upload our minds into machines or cyberspace and live forever, would this be heaven? Only if Murphy’s Law does not operate in cyberspace.
I understand the power of bonds formed in cyberspace. In the sense that they are formed by mind-to-mind contact, they are transcendent. What they aren’t is new.
People have been bonding that way forever. Words and images have been conveying messages as long as there have been words and images. I feel bonded with writers I have never met and never will. When I lived in Washington, DC, I took the subway down to the Smithsonian just so I could look at Vermeer’s Woman Holding a Balance again. I remember staying a long time.
The central idea is "the hope that we might one day upload our minds into machines or cyberspace and live forever." Geraci does not present this as something that WILL happen, but rather as something that some people WANT to happen. They turn their eyes to the Internet the way some people turn their eyes to heaven. No death! No limits!
It is difficult to separate the ideas in this book from Geraci's examination of them. (I am not sure whether he thinks they are a good idea.) But the book is fascinating.
Personally, I think this is the stuff of science fiction rather than potential reality. If someday we can upload our minds into machines or cyberspace and live forever, would this be heaven? Only if Murphy’s Law does not operate in cyberspace.
I understand the power of bonds formed in cyberspace. In the sense that they are formed by mind-to-mind contact, they are transcendent. What they aren’t is new.
People have been bonding that way forever. Words and images have been conveying messages as long as there have been words and images. I feel bonded with writers I have never met and never will. When I lived in Washington, DC, I took the subway down to the Smithsonian just so I could look at Vermeer’s Woman Holding a Balance again. I remember staying a long time.
April 8, 2012
A mixed bag, largely due to the author over-stating his case and cherry-picking his own evidence. He's arguing for the influence of non-biological transhumanism on policy, religion and culture: at half the length of this very short (145 pp, not counting appendices)book, he'd have some interesting things to say. The connection between transhumanism and policy in the last decade is clear and well-documented; the willingness of the theologically inclined to engage with transhumanist ideas less well known and quite interesting.
His evidence for popular impact is self-contradictory, and goes something like this: "In the 80s, major players in robotics were big fans of cyberpunk. Students today don't really read SF, but since the people who used to are senior now, SF is critically important in robotics." Or, he extrapolates from one self-described tiny minority community in Second Life to all of Second Life to all of, astonishingly, "online gaming," attributing to all a desire to escape the physical and everyday in favor of cyberspace. At the same time, he reports the quote, "World of Warcraft is the new golf." Which is it, social pastime or Annunciation? The giant leap of logic supports his thesis, so off we go.
In all, some very good bits accompanied with an over-inflated sense of the universal importance of his area of research.
His evidence for popular impact is self-contradictory, and goes something like this: "In the 80s, major players in robotics were big fans of cyberpunk. Students today don't really read SF, but since the people who used to are senior now, SF is critically important in robotics." Or, he extrapolates from one self-described tiny minority community in Second Life to all of Second Life to all of, astonishingly, "online gaming," attributing to all a desire to escape the physical and everyday in favor of cyberspace. At the same time, he reports the quote, "World of Warcraft is the new golf." Which is it, social pastime or Annunciation? The giant leap of logic supports his thesis, so off we go.
In all, some very good bits accompanied with an over-inflated sense of the universal importance of his area of research.
June 23, 2014
Geraci defines Apocalyptic AI as a modern cultural and religious trend originating in the popular science press: “Popular science authors in robotics and artificial intelligence have become the most influential spokespeople for apocalyptic theology in the Western world. Apocalyptic AI advocates promise that in the very near future technological progress will allow us to build supremely intelligent machines and to copy our own minds into machines so that we can live forever in a virtual realm of cyberspace.
“Ultimately, the promises of Apocalyptic AI are almost identical to those of Jewish and Christian apocalyptic traditions. Should they come true, the world will be, once again, a place of magic.”
According to Geraci, Apocalyptic AI is a religion: it is a religion based on science, without deities and supernatural phenomena, but with the apocalyptic promises of religions. And he thinks that, while the Apocalyptic AI religion has a powerful but often hidden presence in our culture, the Transhumanist community embraces it openly and explicitly. Transhumanism is first defined as “a new religious movement“, and throughout the book Geraci continues to see it as a modern religion.
See full review:
http://skefia.com/2013/01/05/apocalyp...
“Ultimately, the promises of Apocalyptic AI are almost identical to those of Jewish and Christian apocalyptic traditions. Should they come true, the world will be, once again, a place of magic.”
According to Geraci, Apocalyptic AI is a religion: it is a religion based on science, without deities and supernatural phenomena, but with the apocalyptic promises of religions. And he thinks that, while the Apocalyptic AI religion has a powerful but often hidden presence in our culture, the Transhumanist community embraces it openly and explicitly. Transhumanism is first defined as “a new religious movement“, and throughout the book Geraci continues to see it as a modern religion.
See full review:
http://skefia.com/2013/01/05/apocalyp...
February 12, 2012
Not quite apocalytic as most people understand the term. This book is really about the potential effect of Strong AI on society. The apocalytic part would have fit nicely in a short article. Nevertheless, there are enough interesting topics here that are worth reading. Trivially, I especially like the plot summary and analysis of Philip K. Dick's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (aka Blade Runner the movie) pp127-129.
Read
March 6, 2011Interesting. (Read for research.)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews