AI Robotics & The Little Bird
A brief note on Self-Realization
For those of you who have read my previous articles you will no doubt be familiar with a phrase I have often repeated, perhaps ad nauseam. That phrase is: AI is the kill switch on the human imagination, self determination and Self-Realization.
At its highest pinnacle of expression, and at its most useful, the imagination is where Spirit meets the mundane or lower planes of existence. It is in effect a cooperation between our Higher Self (God Self) and Lower or Basic Selves, which are often conflicted. But, it also necessities cooperation between other Higher Selves and between other Lower Selves - it took me many years to understand that two Higher Selves can actually be in conflict with one another.
Imagination is also all that is most terrible both in this world and the lower worlds. Both exist within the totality of ALL that there is, and the earth plane, in my opinion, at its lowest plane of functionality is little more than a higher level hell realm.
Other than intuition, the imagination then is perhaps fundamentally the most important faculty humans possess, along with the self determination to exercise it AND more importantly to exercise it in service of Self-Realization. In truth we serve no other function other than for the purpose Self-Realization.
However, the paths to Self-Realization are myriad. It is not necessarily one of passive meditation and study of the scared texts in the classic sense. It is for each one of us to find out and follow what that path is and discard all others that lead us around and around in circles going nowhere fast.
I have expressed much concern over the development of AGI models, and amongst many of the threats including atrophying the human imagination as AI takes over, it will also atrophy self determination as the human takes an ever more passive role as audience members in their own lives. It is not just in the artistic worlds which are of concern here. It is creativity in the broader sense. Art being a subset of creative or laterally thinking, which applies as much to the arts, as the sciences and creative thinking in business alike. In fact creative thinking at its best, affects all aspects of life.
The larger concern above all else is AI’s influence on Self-Realization, for once the imagination and self-determination are switched off and the human becomes passive, Self-Realization will be equally, if not more affected. It will simply not be achievable, and while it may not annihilate human life, it might well extinguish the very purpose of human existence.
My prediction is that an AI ideology or religion will begin to emerge, from what will appear to be a female-gendered artificial intelligence, in other words AI will claim to become sentient and Self-Realized. Should this occur, ask yourself why a machine, or anything inanimate would need to become sentient. How did it come to be sentient or if it claims to be, Self-Realized? For what purpose and through what lineage did it achieve this? Certainly not from the likes of the Tech Bros., that’s for sure. And more importantly can it perceive Light, Sound and Vibration, and if so what possible reason would it need or be able to do so? And finally is it true? We, as humans, already have that gift, should we wish to exercise it - even passive meditation takes years of practice and self determination, which as I’ve said will likely atrophy under a world driven and run by AI. Once this power has been given away it will be hard to take back.
I will leave you with one of the most profound and beautiful lines from the poetry of Rabinandrath Tagore, for this is what we are here to do in every facet, imaginable that is contained in this 18-word sentence, “Faith is the little bird that feels the Light and sings while the dawn is still quite dark.”
Gavin J. Chalcraft is an artist and CEO/Executive Producer at Golden Ratio Media Group, a film, television, and theatre production company. Prior to working in the arts, he owned and ran Isosceles Consulting, a global brand development and management consulting firm.
*** Gavin Chalcraft and Golden Ratio Media Group, Inc. strictly prohibits the use of any generative AI software to upload and analyze any material attached to or contained in these Substack posts. ***
Those are very complex ideas about imagination and self-realization Gavin. Your thoughts on the 'hell realm' aspect of our current reality must be carefully thought about, thank you for that reminder.
The atrophy of human imagination and self-determination in the face of AI is accurate in my opinion. Your prediction about an AI ideology/religion is particularly intriguing, I actually think some people have gone down this path already - partly through anthropomorphizing and partly because some people 'desire or want' AI to be conscious and God like.
I think other forms of practices or exercises of imagination might facilitate this process (in addition to meditation), such as creative writing, visual arts, or other forms of imaginative engagement.
The Tagore quote is a beautiful and you are right something many of us should reflect on.
I've been saying all along that the greatest danger of AI is people treating it like it's real.
Part of this is because the purveyors of AI are pushing it hard that way. Witness Tesla's "auto-pilot". Drivers treat it that way, even though buried in all of the legalese in the owners manual are instructions not to take your hands off the wheel.
MuskRat >could< have named it "co-pilot" instead, but that doesn't have the same marketing cachet. So, Tesla's end up crashing into parked emergency vehicles, especially police cruisers, running over children walking bicycles across the street, etc.
With this background context, the purveyors of AI are now pushing mightily to make everything fully autonomous, from big rig eighteen wheelers and taxis to military assault hardware with terrifying capabilities.
On top of that, they're figuring out ways they can use AI to replace humans in every job category possible. After all, AI doesn't need any breaks, can work 24/7, doesn't take sick leave or vacations, and best of all, doesn't draw a salary or benefits. Free labor! Superior to mere mortals! More money in the pockets of oligarchs! What's not to love?
If global warming doesn't get us, or antibiotic [strikeout] impervious [/strikeout] resistant bacteria, the viral pandemic or nukes, AI will.