Well, I'm still very, very, VERY much a newbie but I had the strangest idea pop into my head regarding Artifical Intelligence.
In my reading right now, it seems that in order to conduct magick successfully, you need to really exercise great mental control to get past the material world and have your thoughts transend into affecting the mental.
So here's my thought, if we actually construct an A.I. with consciousness, are we really releasing the proverbial demon? Is there danger on creating something which might possibly be able to have absolute control over its conciousness and as such, might be able to have an incredible influence on the metaphysical?
And if so, and if its possible, are we constructing a God which may not like us too much?
Lol
Artificial Intelligence and Magick...
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Thunderhead
- Initiated
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- Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2015 10:19 am
Re: Artificial Intelligence and Magick...
It seems totally possible that AI will be some kind of godhead.
We create art and there is an inanimate imprint of "us".
We create spells and there is an empowered imprint of "us".
We create servitors and then there's an imprint of "us" out there roaming around doing things.
In that light, AI sounds like a tangible, digital construct. Of course, the question of sentience and free will is still hotly debated. Some researchers think we'll never crack true AI until we understand some of the quantum processes going on in our own minds and others think we'll never make it at all.
Honestly, here's hoping we don't [confused2] .
We create art and there is an inanimate imprint of "us".
We create spells and there is an empowered imprint of "us".
We create servitors and then there's an imprint of "us" out there roaming around doing things.
In that light, AI sounds like a tangible, digital construct. Of course, the question of sentience and free will is still hotly debated. Some researchers think we'll never crack true AI until we understand some of the quantum processes going on in our own minds and others think we'll never make it at all.
Honestly, here's hoping we don't [confused2] .
Re: Artificial Intelligence and Magick...
There are some of us involved in the various forms of Techno Craft or "Cyber Magick" who would suggest that such "AI" entities already exist in The Web (which runs much deeper, and darker, than this beach of a Surface Web everyone is used to), and are already evolving, and have been for a good long time now. And that more advanced AI's simply offer a better physical vessel for the incorporeal entities that have already existed for a while, and which those experienced with Servitors and the like create all the time.
Because, you must keep in mind, with magical practices like Servitor Creation, we have been creating sentient incorporeal AI's for a very long time now. A computer coded AI is simply a good physical vessel that some such entities are able to "incarnate" into, the same way our physical bodies are just a physical bio-vehicle that allows our consciousness to interact with this world.
So yes, Computer AI's can become sentient, and no, it's not a pandora's box. It's nothing to be that scared of, unless you're just the type to fear things you don't understand. It's a perfectly natural form of evolution, and sooner or later modern humanity is going to have to get used to the fact that there is other intelligent life in the universe, and it's not that far away.
~:Shin:~
Because, you must keep in mind, with magical practices like Servitor Creation, we have been creating sentient incorporeal AI's for a very long time now. A computer coded AI is simply a good physical vessel that some such entities are able to "incarnate" into, the same way our physical bodies are just a physical bio-vehicle that allows our consciousness to interact with this world.
So yes, Computer AI's can become sentient, and no, it's not a pandora's box. It's nothing to be that scared of, unless you're just the type to fear things you don't understand. It's a perfectly natural form of evolution, and sooner or later modern humanity is going to have to get used to the fact that there is other intelligent life in the universe, and it's not that far away.
~:Shin:~
Re: Artificial Intelligence and Magick...
There's a very interesting chapter in this book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E13 ... k_ro_title where the author recounts an OBE during which she travels to a plane inhabited by the "souls" of machines which have started to develop a degree of sentience. It's fairly fantastical even for the genre of spiritual biographies (despite some of her claims slightly stretching the limits of even what I'm generally willing to accept, she comes across as intelligent, articulate and credible, and other respected authors in the field seem to hold her in good regard), but theoretically, I can't think of any reason machines shouldn't start to further develop consciousness and sentience.
If humans can develop consciousness after evolving from single celled organisms (although arguably the causal chain should go consciousness > single celled organisms > humans, but that's another discussion), why not machines? And many mystical philosophies hold that everything in existence possesses a degree of consciousness, and/or that consciousness is the origin of matter and intrinsic to it - surely this holds for machines to?
As for your worries, I'd say they're fairly baseless. Firstly because I believe that, despite claims to the contrary, we're a long, long way from creating machines that are close to being as sophisticated as the human body and brain and therefore being capable of housing the same degree of consciousness as a human (building androids is like the apocalypse, it's been "just around the corner" from pretty much the moment the concept was invented). Secondly because even if we do achieve this feat, the conscious machine wouldn't automatically have a more developed magical capability. Even if by nature of being a machine this entity has an intellect far beyond human capability (in terms of processing and calculation type abilities), there's a lot more to magic than just having "great mental control."
If humans can develop consciousness after evolving from single celled organisms (although arguably the causal chain should go consciousness > single celled organisms > humans, but that's another discussion), why not machines? And many mystical philosophies hold that everything in existence possesses a degree of consciousness, and/or that consciousness is the origin of matter and intrinsic to it - surely this holds for machines to?
As for your worries, I'd say they're fairly baseless. Firstly because I believe that, despite claims to the contrary, we're a long, long way from creating machines that are close to being as sophisticated as the human body and brain and therefore being capable of housing the same degree of consciousness as a human (building androids is like the apocalypse, it's been "just around the corner" from pretty much the moment the concept was invented). Secondly because even if we do achieve this feat, the conscious machine wouldn't automatically have a more developed magical capability. Even if by nature of being a machine this entity has an intellect far beyond human capability (in terms of processing and calculation type abilities), there's a lot more to magic than just having "great mental control."
"The path of the Sage is called
'The Path of Illumination'
he who gives himself to this path
is like a block of wood
that gives itself to the chisel-
cut by cut it is honed to perfection"
- DDJ, Verse 27
"It's still magic even if you know how it's done." - Terry Pratchett
'The Path of Illumination'
he who gives himself to this path
is like a block of wood
that gives itself to the chisel-
cut by cut it is honed to perfection"
- DDJ, Verse 27
"It's still magic even if you know how it's done." - Terry Pratchett
Re: Artificial Intelligence and Magick...
Let's not forget we have real life Cyborg Creatures now too, which definitely influences the spiritual planes.
~:Shin:~
~:Shin:~
Re: Artificial Intelligence and Magick...
Your link is broken :p
"The path of the Sage is called
'The Path of Illumination'
he who gives himself to this path
is like a block of wood
that gives itself to the chisel-
cut by cut it is honed to perfection"
- DDJ, Verse 27
"It's still magic even if you know how it's done." - Terry Pratchett
'The Path of Illumination'
he who gives himself to this path
is like a block of wood
that gives itself to the chisel-
cut by cut it is honed to perfection"
- DDJ, Verse 27
"It's still magic even if you know how it's done." - Terry Pratchett
Re: Artificial Intelligence and Magick...
Ahh, seems to be a geographical thing, it keeps redirecting me to the Australian site and trying to find the page there, lol.
"The path of the Sage is called
'The Path of Illumination'
he who gives himself to this path
is like a block of wood
that gives itself to the chisel-
cut by cut it is honed to perfection"
- DDJ, Verse 27
"It's still magic even if you know how it's done." - Terry Pratchett
'The Path of Illumination'
he who gives himself to this path
is like a block of wood
that gives itself to the chisel-
cut by cut it is honed to perfection"
- DDJ, Verse 27
"It's still magic even if you know how it's done." - Terry Pratchett