As the 21st century develops, George Dvorsky has come up with his must-know terms in science, technology and philosophy for the “expert generalist,” so that we may understand the Big Picture past, present and future.
As I examined the list: Sentient Developments, I was struck with how much an overall religious worldview will be needed to synthesize these new developments, assuming we can survive to experience these advances. Christianity, and more specifically, the Theoevolutionary Church, will need to provide a healthy structure for these developments.
Technological development will create radical social disruptions beginning around the mid-point of the 21st century. Most of the creaters and engineers will expect or even demand total freedom to develop what they please without moral restrictions. It will be the task of religion to apply the traditional seven Christian virtues, the ten commandments, the eight Beatitudes and the six precepts of the Traditional Church to these technological developments, while at the same time the Theoevolutionary Church may welcome technologies that help us evolve to Godhood.
The list of terms includes:
Accelerating change, the Anthropic Principle, artificial General Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Bayesian Rationality, Cosmological Eschatology, Engineered Negligible Senescence, Existential Risks, Extended Identity, The Fermi Paradox, Friendly AI, Human Enhancement, Human Exceptionalism, Information Theoretic Death, Mass Automation, Memetic Engineering, Mind Transfer, Molecular Assembler, Neurodiversity, Neural Interface Device, Noosphere, Open Source, Participatory Panopticon, Political Globalization, Post-Scarcity Economy, Quantum Computation, Radical Luddism, Remedial Ecology, Simulation Argument, Soft Paternalism, and Technological Singularity.
Mr. Dvorsky gives no suggestion, of course, for the Theoevolutionary Church which should be the paternal and ethical foundation for dealing with these coming technological advances. It seems to me that God is the “postbiological superintelligence” they are attempting to invent. It is another virtual God, whereas the real God must be not merely simulated, however impressive the simulation; we must join God, become God, evolve to God, not merely simulate God. This suggests that extending personhood artificially outside the human sphere is not the central direction that evolution must go, it is the human being who can be extended through evolution. The Darwinian process continues, even as we may learn to manipulate it. Let us be directed by the humane considerations of the church.
We would not approve of radical Luddism, the dangers of modern technology are only dangerous when they are unhinged from traditional religious morality. The “libertarian paternalism” we would approve of would be directed by the subsidiarity and federalism of the Traditional Church, upgraded by the Theoevolutionary Church.
Traditional religious sages have been experiencing God by way of soul-recognition for many centuries, now computers may be seeking the same experience. Both are more or less virtual experiences. God is real, not virtual.
Technology can move in the direction of bio-spiritual evolution to Godhood, applying the traditional social teachings of the church, which supplies the best environment for living and evolving in the world. We evolve in the direction of God, who was seen by Christ and other great religious sages, long before modern technology.
These complicated issues will need to be further examined.
As I examined the list: Sentient Developments, I was struck with how much an overall religious worldview will be needed to synthesize these new developments, assuming we can survive to experience these advances. Christianity, and more specifically, the Theoevolutionary Church, will need to provide a healthy structure for these developments.
Technological development will create radical social disruptions beginning around the mid-point of the 21st century. Most of the creaters and engineers will expect or even demand total freedom to develop what they please without moral restrictions. It will be the task of religion to apply the traditional seven Christian virtues, the ten commandments, the eight Beatitudes and the six precepts of the Traditional Church to these technological developments, while at the same time the Theoevolutionary Church may welcome technologies that help us evolve to Godhood.
The list of terms includes:
Accelerating change, the Anthropic Principle, artificial General Intelligence, Augmented Reality, Bayesian Rationality, Cosmological Eschatology, Engineered Negligible Senescence, Existential Risks, Extended Identity, The Fermi Paradox, Friendly AI, Human Enhancement, Human Exceptionalism, Information Theoretic Death, Mass Automation, Memetic Engineering, Mind Transfer, Molecular Assembler, Neurodiversity, Neural Interface Device, Noosphere, Open Source, Participatory Panopticon, Political Globalization, Post-Scarcity Economy, Quantum Computation, Radical Luddism, Remedial Ecology, Simulation Argument, Soft Paternalism, and Technological Singularity.
Mr. Dvorsky gives no suggestion, of course, for the Theoevolutionary Church which should be the paternal and ethical foundation for dealing with these coming technological advances. It seems to me that God is the “postbiological superintelligence” they are attempting to invent. It is another virtual God, whereas the real God must be not merely simulated, however impressive the simulation; we must join God, become God, evolve to God, not merely simulate God. This suggests that extending personhood artificially outside the human sphere is not the central direction that evolution must go, it is the human being who can be extended through evolution. The Darwinian process continues, even as we may learn to manipulate it. Let us be directed by the humane considerations of the church.
We would not approve of radical Luddism, the dangers of modern technology are only dangerous when they are unhinged from traditional religious morality. The “libertarian paternalism” we would approve of would be directed by the subsidiarity and federalism of the Traditional Church, upgraded by the Theoevolutionary Church.
Traditional religious sages have been experiencing God by way of soul-recognition for many centuries, now computers may be seeking the same experience. Both are more or less virtual experiences. God is real, not virtual.
Technology can move in the direction of bio-spiritual evolution to Godhood, applying the traditional social teachings of the church, which supplies the best environment for living and evolving in the world. We evolve in the direction of God, who was seen by Christ and other great religious sages, long before modern technology.
These complicated issues will need to be further examined.
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