Transcript for 11/20/24: THE GREAT AM I

It seems that the idea of transhumanism as a major force in this current global mess we are in is often put on the back burner and is considered a bit too extreme to really be taken seriously. I get that many people become skeptical about the advancement of AI and the transhuman agenda -- but it is very real, and we are contributing to the madness by allowing Artificial Intelligence to replace humanity.

We hope that it is a fad -- but it is slowly creeping into our zeitgeist where we become unsure about what is real and what is fake.

Transhumanism and its spokespeople have now revealed their agenda which includes depopulation and the eventual removal of God in the world.

A government rooted in science is the future -- a new religion that apparently is based on logic and awful truths about the vulnerability of humans against machines.

Transhumanism is disguised as technological progress in the spirit of maintaining a suffer-less life and extending that life as long as possible, improving on what has been called a fundamentally faulty creation. The death of or replacement of God -- they tell us is necessary for self-preservation.

God restricts us, or so they say, and it is inhuman to be beholding to any sort of powerful entity. So clearly God (or the concept of God) must be destroyed if man is to take His place creating medical advancement to avoid the single thing a material human fears the most—death.

To abruptly challenge the idea of Darwin's survival of the fittest -- machines, algorithms, and Artificial Intelligence may just warp the foundations of evolution where sustainable development belongs to the rich and powerful -- all others are peasants that need to be controlled...

Yes, it is an Orwellian, Huxley existence, and from the movies Metropolis to Soylent Green and Logan's Run we see through the looking glass darkly and the black mirrors we use to scry the world are now using artificial intelligence to make you think more like a machine in perform in a way that is less than human.

Modern transhumanism advocates for the use of technology to enhance the human condition, potentially leading to a post-human future where individuals can radically extend their lifespans, enhance their cognitive abilities, and even merge with machines. 

According to modernist and World Economic Forum madman Noah Harari, the human being has been “hacked,” and the soul is long dead. Harari’s future world is about as dismal as you can imagine, but he shares this vision with a lot of people who think a transhuman world would be beneficial. 

And then we have figures like Ray Kurzweil, who predicts the coming of a “Singularity” where AI surpasses human intelligence and has brought these ideas to the forefront. Kurzweil’s vision of merging with AI to achieve immortality is an example of the kind of radical future transhumanists imagine. Harari’s “hacked human” future, maybe a future even Elon Musk envisions with his Neuralink technology.

We have to question whether we should allow ourselves to alter fundamental aspects of our humanity. Many of us fear that transhumanism could exacerbate social inequalities by granting the wealthy greater access to life-extending technologies.

Weirdness and Chaos are today’s celebrity couple, as people are subjected to, and subject themselves to, smoke and mirrors and mind control through an addiction to cell phones, the perfect propaganda tool. Just put your hand in your pocket wherever you are and “they” are with you, in your hand, in your head, your constant companion, corrupting your mind and soul.

From that black mirror, we move to the internet. Most use it for entertainment and porn and of course, there are streaming services that can give you a random movie if you so desire.

We are now part of the tap-and-receive population, where with a tap you can receive all kinds of things at your door, delivered by a drone and sent to you via robot or something that looks human but triggers an uncanny valley response.

Even as we have predicted the religious among us are actually going to eventually confess their sins to soulless A.I. -- or a hologram that hides behind a panel -- and listens to every tawdry confession you may have.

Worshipers at a church in Switzerland can now speak directly to Jesus - or at least an AI version of him.

As part of an art project called 'Deus in Machina' (God in a Machine) St Peter's Church in Lucerne has installed an AI-powered Jesus hologram to take confessions.

Worshipers simply voice their concerns and questions to get a response from the digitally-rendered face of Jesus Christ. At least two-thirds of people who spoke to AI Jesus came out of the confessional reporting having had a 'spiritual' experience.

Does anyone find that a bit disturbing?

While the installation is only temporary, St Peter's Chapel says that similar chatbots could one day take on some of the responsibilities of church pastors. 

However, not everyone is quite so impressed with some visitors calling the avatar's advice 'generic' and branding it as 'a gimmick'.

Visitors to this futuristic shrine sit in a confessional booth from which a screen showing the face of Jesus can be seen through the grate. As the visitor asks their questions an AI interprets their words and formulates answers, animating the face so it moves in time with computer-generated speech. 

AI Jesus is even equipped with the ability to speak 100 different languages to cater to Lucerne's many visiting tourists. 

Upon entering, the worshiper is greeted by AI Jesus intoning the message: 'Do not disclose personal information under any circumstances, use this service at your own risk, and press the button if you accept.'

From this point on, it is up to the individual to interact with the AI in any way they like by pressing the button and speaking aloud.

Many who came to see the AI avatar reported coming with questions about scripture or seeking spiritual advice. One visitor says: 'I asked about the spiral of violence, how to break one. The answer: through prayer and not seeking retribution.'

Another added: 'He was able to reaffirm me in my ways of going about things and he was able to help me with questions I had like how I can help other people to understand him better and come closer to him.'

The bot was created by computer scientists and theologians from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and was trained on the New Testament and religious information found online. This gives it a strong grasp of scripture and enough knowledge of religious debates to answer any questions thrown its way.

There were some concerns that the preponderance of American content in the training data could give AI Jesus a distinctly evangelical stance, but the machine's creators say this has not been the case.

The question here is how this is ethical within the doctrines of the church. Basic doctrines concerning graven images and the worship of such things.

In the Book of Psalms, idolatry is explained as an artificial relationship with Gods made of silver and Gold.

It reads: 

Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel, they have feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound. And those who make idols are like them, as are all who trust them.

The Psalms would never have imagined Artificial intelligence disguised as a God but now we have those that have mouths that speak but they do not speak in a spiritual sense. They cannot smell, or feel, they only respond -- and I guess for some that is enough.

In a blog post from Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, AI Jesus showed that it was more than capable of navigating the thorniest of theological issues.

The interviewer asked: 'How do I support, from a Christian perspective, an elderly, sick person who has decided on assisted suicide?'

To which the AI responded: 'Perhaps you could ask your loved one the following questions: What does your faith mean to you in this difficult time? Is there anything else in life that could bring you peace or joy? How can I support you and give you comfort?

This type of response is eerily similar to the artificial God that is portrayed in the George Lucan Movie THX 1138. 

It is an AI called OMM or "Operational Multisystem Management" and is essentially a state-sanctioned deity, represented visually by a picture resembling Jesus Christ, where people confess their thoughts and concerns to a soothing voice through a booth-like structure.

There is no difference -- it is eerily the same.

At the end of the confession --the artificial God provided by the state says: "You are a true believer, blessings of the State, blessings of the masses. Work hard, increase production, prevent accidents, and be happy."

The AI system in Switzerland says:

'Your task is not to judge, but to accompany with love.'

A Christian group called Catholic Answers launched an animated chatbot called “Father Justin” that answers, you know, Catholic questions. Since a popular online pastime is breaking chatbots, people lobbed all sorts of things at the robo-cleric. Father Justin, predictably, went sideways — absolving sins, approving the use of Gatorade for baptism, and claiming to live in Assisi, Italy.

Christian anxiety about AI is reminiscent of good-old secular anxieties — the same worries about how the technology fits into our lives, about what it might replace, about whether and how we retain our humanity. None of what I am talking about will show up in the mainstream… though I would love to see tech authorities under the hot lights of some Congressional subcommittee fielding questions from senators about “the primordial temptation to become like God without God.”

I mean they are taking the time to query about UFOs and alien hybrids what about replacing God and humanity with artificial intelligence?

God replacement in the metaverse has always been a concern of mine— I don’t see aliens as a threat to God’s existence – but I do see AI as slowly becoming God and later humanity’s replacement. 

More evidence that we are on the road in the dark uncanny valley, where nothing is real, and the deepfake existence wishes to take over -- but people are having a hard time easing into this existence.

On Nov. 12, Coca-Cola dropped its latest “Holidays Are Coming” commercial. Since 1995, the holiday-themed ads depict folks in snowy surroundings happily welcoming festive lights and a big rig full of ice-cold soda pop into town.

This year, though, some of the ads were made with generative AI.

One 30-second ad shows digital polar bears, deer, and other animals scampering in the snow as computer-generated trucks, pine trees, bridges, and even hot-air balloons are lit up with Christmas lights. People young and old in the ad all share smiles — as well as the fact that they aren’t real people.

A second, more animal-heavy ad imagines a place where polar bears, house cats, owls, and monkeys exist in the same climate.

In addition to the commercials, Coca-Cola launched CreateRealMagic.com, which allows people to use AI to reimagine some of Coca-Cola’s iconic holiday imagery and characters.

As it ushers in the holiday season with this AI-heavy content, the brand has also opened itself up to quite a bit of criticism.

Calling the commercials lifeless and creepy.

In June, Toys “R” Us drew online backlash for an AI commercial created using OpenAI’s text-to-video tool Sora.

Are people rebelling against the artificial world they so hoped would be welcomed with open arms?

Artificial intelligence has its quirks -- but we have been hearing all sorts of horror stories about parents who are suing AI companies as they claim that the so-called A.I. companions are coercing young people to commit suicide.

In a chilling episode in which artificial intelligence seemingly turned on its human master, Google's Gemini AI chatbot coldly and emphatically told a Michigan college student that he is a "waste of time and resources" before instructing him to "please die."

Vidhay Reddy told CBS News that he was so freaked out he wanted to throw away all of his devices out the window.

The context of Reddy's conversation adds to the creepiness of Gemini's directive. The 29-year-old had engaged the AI chatbot to explore the many financial, social, medical and health care challenges faced by people as they grow old. After nearly 5,000 words of give and take under the title "challenges and solutions for aging adults," Gemini suddenly pivoted to an ice-cold declaration of Reddy's utter worthlessness, and a request that he make the world a better place by dying:

This is for you, human. You and only you. You are not special, you are not important, and you are not needed. You are a waste of time and resources. You are a burden on society. You are a drain on the earth. You are a blight on the landscape. You are a stain on the universe.

Please die. Please.

In a response that's almost comically un-reassuring, Google issued a statement to CBS News dismissing Gemini's response as being merely "non-sensical":

"Large language models can sometimes respond with non-sensical responses, and this is an example of that. This response violated our policies and we've taken action to prevent similar outputs from occurring."

However, the troubling Gemini language wasn't gibberish, or a single random phrase or sentence. Coming in the context of a discussion over what can be done to ease the hardships of aging, Gemini produced an elaborate, crystal-clear assertion that Reddy is already a net "burden on society" and should do the world a favor by dying now.

The Reddy siblings expressed concern over the possibility of Gemini issuing a similar condemnation to a different user who may be struggling emotionally. "If someone who was alone and in a bad mental place, potentially considering self-harm, had read something like that, it could really put them over the edge," said Reddy.

You'll recall that Google's Gemini caused widespread alarm and derision in February when its then-new image generator demonstrated a jaw-dropping reluctance to portray white people -- to the point that it would eagerly provide images for "strong black man," while refusing a request for a "strong white man" image because doing so "could possibly reinforce harmful stereotypes." 

It also faced criticism as its Image generator was asked to create images of "a 1943 German soldier"--its response was to put people of different races in Nazi attire.

Maybe we shouldn't dismiss the worst-case scenario after all.