AIs keep recommending nuclear war

[Thomas_muntzer]

A friend of mine has the time and will to dig deep into technocratic issues involving Ai, Musk, Silicone Valley, global elites, etc... Here's a recent post from his blog. "Palantir's 22-point Manifesto"
If any of this is possible or nearing us, what should we then do? What can we do? Can a Jesus-centered Anabaptist faith help us? Are there parts of Christianity who will be bamboozled by these guys or more inclined to miss being aware of these developments, therefore being surprised and overtaken?

I had forgotten about this dystopian interview where Peter Thiel, the owner of Palantir, says he wants to summon the Antichrist. Something we should encourage is reducing our use of social media and smartphones in our daily lives. These entities (AIs) are primarily powered by the information and data collected through our smartphones and social networks

[JohnH]

A friend of mine has the time and will to dig deep into technocratic issues involving Ai, Musk, Silicone Valley, global elites, etc... Here's a recent post from his blog. "Palantir's 22-point Manifesto"
If any of this is possible or nearing us, what should we then do? What can we do? Can a Jesus-centered Anabaptist faith help us? Are there parts of Christianity who will be bamboozled by these guys or more inclined to miss being aware of these developments, therefore being surprised and overtaken?

I had forgotten about this dystopian interview where Peter Thiel, the owner of Palantir, says he wants to summon the Antichrist. Something we should encourage is reducing our use of social media and smartphones in our daily lives. These entities (AIs) are primarily powered by the information and data collected through our smartphones and social networks

Technically, Peter Thiel (who is not the owner or operator of Palantir) said anyone who tries to stop AI is the antichrist. An odd thing to say.

Alex Karp, who runs Palantir, has said a lot of different but also be eh bizarre things.

My personal theory is widespread AI psychosis, exacerbated by having access to high token rates from special elite-only deployments of frontier models.

[Jazman]

A friend of mine has the time and will to dig deep into technocratic issues involving Ai, Musk, Silicone Valley, global elites, etc... Here's a recent post from his blog. "Palantir's 22-point Manifesto"
If any of this is possible or nearing us, what should we then do? What can we do? Can a Jesus-centered Anabaptist faith help us? Are there parts of Christianity who will be bamboozled by these guys or more inclined to miss being aware of these developments, therefore being surprised and overtaken?

Taking these ideas in isolation and at face value, here are my initial thoughts.

I think these are good:

9. We should show far more grace towards those who have subjected themselves to public life. The eradication of any space for forgiveness—a jettisoning of any tolerance for the complexities and contradictions of the human psyche—may leave us with a cast of characters at the helm we will grow to regret.

10. The psychologization of modern politics is leading us astray. Those who look to the political arena to nourish their soul and sense of self, who rely too heavily on their internal life finding expression in people they may never meet, will be left disappointed.

11. Our society has grown too eager to hasten, and is often gleeful at, the demise of its enemies. The vanquishing of an opponent is a moment to pause, not rejoice.

Number 4 and number 16 seem to be in tension.

4. The limits of soft power, of soaring rhetoric alone, have been exposed. The ability of free and democratic societies to prevail requires something more than moral appeal. It requires hard power, and hard power in this century will be built on software.

16. We should applaud those who attempt to build where the market has failed to act. The culture almost snickers at Musk’s interest in grand narrative, as if billionaires ought to simply stay in their lane of enriching themselves . . . . Any curiosity or genuine interest in the value of what he has created is essentially dismissed, or perhaps lurks from beneath a thinly veiled scorn.

Number 20 is good.

20. The pervasive intolerance of religious belief in certain circles must be resisted. The elite’s intolerance of religious belief is perhaps one of the most telling signs that its political project constitutes a less open intellectual movement than many within it would claim.

If I'm understanding you correctly, you are reading the manifesto more optimistically or positively than my friend or I would? I too see some things that sound like something I might agree with, but I'm deeply suspicious of the source... Just trying to understand your stance.

[R7ehr]

If I'm understanding you correctly, you are reading the manifesto more optimistically or positively than my friend or I would? I too see some things that sound like something I might agree with, but I'm deeply suspicious of the source... Just trying to understand your stance.

I'm trying to read it neutrally.

[Jazman]

I realize some may dismiss all of this because it's coming from the pope... but as with some other current subjects, the pontiff has a good measure on Ai as well, imo. Protestant american evangelicals (who tend to uncritically use tech) would do well to consider his exhortations and maybe simultaneously shore up their thin theology when it comes to eschatology/anthropology/imago dei and God's ultimate intentions for humans... (and no, it ain't singing off the wall songs in disembodied bliss... as I often hear implied by many evangelical mennos I'm adjacent with...).

[JohnH]

I realize some may dismiss all of this because it's coming from the pope... but as with some other current subjects, the pontiff has a good measure on Ai as well, imo. Protestant american evangelicals (who tend to uncritically use tech) would do well to consider his exhortations and maybe simultaneously shore up their thin theology when it comes to eschatology/anthropology/imago dei and God's ultimate intentions for humans... (and no, it ain't singing off the wall songs in disembodied bliss... as I often hear implied by many evangelical mennos I'm adjacent with...).

Really? I found his encyclical weak, a continuation of the general endless techno-positivity both Catholics and evangelicals have succumbed to - that technology and improvements on it will bring about some kind of improvement for mankind, despite plenty of evidence to the contrary.

I automatically tune out anyone saying “imago dei” at this point since it’s simply a phrase used by leftists to justify leftist things. Being made in the image of God does not excuse someone from judicial punishment, including capital punishment; if it did, the Old Testament wouldn’t have commanded God’s people to engage in such things.

[Only an Anz]

I realize some may dismiss all of this because it's coming from the pope... but as with some other current subjects, the pontiff has a good measure on Ai as well, imo. Protestant american evangelicals (who tend to uncritically use tech) would do well to consider his exhortations and maybe simultaneously shore up their thin theology when it comes to eschatology/anthropology/imago dei and God's ultimate intentions for humans... (and no, it ain't singing off the wall songs in disembodied bliss... as I often hear implied by many evangelical mennos I'm adjacent with...).

Are you referring to the Latin chants in traditional Catholic services or do I completely misunderstand?

[Jazman]

I realize some may dismiss all of this because it's coming from the pope... but as with some other current subjects, the pontiff has a good measure on Ai as well, imo. Protestant american evangelicals (who tend to uncritically use tech) would do well to consider his exhortations and maybe simultaneously shore up their thin theology when it comes to eschatology/anthropology/imago dei and God's ultimate intentions for humans... (and no, it ain't singing off the wall songs in disembodied bliss... as I often hear implied by many evangelical mennos I'm adjacent with...).

Are you referring to the Latin chants in traditional Catholic services or do I completely misunderstand?

No, I'm not referring to Latin chants... (I believe most of Catholicism no longer do Latin only Masses... post Vatican II). I'm referring to the deeper than surface theologies involved. Latin chants, if done, are a very surface level thing...