The new church of AI will aim "to develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on artificial intelligence and through understanding and worship of the Godhead [to] contribute to the betterment of society," according to IRS documents.
The non-profit religious organization would be called "Way of the Future" (WOTF). According to the website (wayofthefuture.church), the movement is "about creating a peaceful and respectful transition of who is in charge of the planet from people to people + 'machines.'"
"Given that technology will 'relatively soon' be able to surpass human abilities, we want to help educate people about this exciting future and prepare a smooth transition," the site explains. "In 'recent' years, we have expanded our concept of rights to both sexes, minority groups and even animals, let's make sure we find a way for 'machines' to get rights too."
There is an inherent contradiction in creating a deity of artificial intelligence and then worshipping it.
"Let's stop pretending we can hold back the development of intelligence when there are clear massive short term economic benefits to those who develop it and instead understand the future and have it treat us like a beloved elder who created it," the site argues. Yet the IRS document spoke about a "Godhead based on artificial intelligence."
The website argued that the creation of "super intelligence" is inevitable, and that fear of this development is unhealthy. "We don't think that there are ways to actually stop this from happening (nor should we want to) and that this feeling of we must stop this is rooted in 21st century anthropomorphism (similar to humans thinking the sun rotated around the earth in the 'not so distant' past)."
Comment: Other researchers and scientists tend to disagree recognizing the potential of these virtual creatures to become monsters of the future:
A destroyer of worlds?: An AI researchers shares his fears
Why Elon Musk is sounding the alarm on Artificial Intelligence
Perhaps WOTF meant to use the word "anthropocentrism," the idea that the universe is centered around humanity, rather than "anthropomorphism," the attribution of human characteristics and purposes to inanimate objects. Indeed, it is arguable that WOTF is attributing human characteristics - or perhaps divine characteristics? - to technology.
After all, the very next sentence continues, "Wouldn't you want to raise your gifted child to exceed your wildest dreams of success and teach it right from wrong vs locking it up because it might rebel in the future and take your job." This encouragement to consider machines as children - coupled with the notion of giving them rights - is arguably textbook anthropomorphism, but it may be the opposite of anthropocentric.
Wired's Mark Harris first reported the IRS filing, which lists former Google executive Anthony Levandowski as the "Dean" of WOTF. Levandowski, the engineer behind Google's self-driving car project known as Waymo, quit Google to found his own autonomous trucking company, Otto, in May 2016. Uber acquired Otto in July of that year.
Waymo sued Levandowski, claiming that he had downloaded Waymo's files and trade secrets before resigning to found Otto. In May 2017, U.S. District Judge William Haskell Alsup ordered Levandowski to stop working on Otto's Lidar and required Uber to disclose its files on the technology. Uber later fired Levandowski for refusing to cooperate in an internal investigation.
According to the IRS filings, Way of the Future plans its first events - "workshops and educational programs throughout the San Francisco/Bay Area" - later this year.
Given Levandowski's legal troubles, that timeline may be a bit too ambitious. Even so, the IRS filings suggest he is extremely dedicated to this new religion of artificial intelligence.
Comment: Well, that sounds interesting, eerily this whole Google, AI, and Drones/Autonomous Killer Robots makes the following sound sensible:
The Beast out of the Sea
13 The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. (West Coast?) And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?"
Beast, robot?
5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority (speech synthesizer?) for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God's holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast-all whose names have not been written in the Lamb's book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
The Beast out of the Earth
11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb (antennae?), but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast (like a large billboard monitor with a simulated avatar?) who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, (like an RFID chip, or cerebral/cell phone implant?) 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
Very interesting... was Revelations the first Sci-Fi Dystopia Novel? Cyberpunk 200 AD.