This thought has been weighing on me for the past few weeks. I am not religious, and my knowledge of the bible is embarrassingly lacking, even for an atheist. So I don’t know if any of what I’m gonna say is new, or if it’s been done to death a thousand years ago.
So, here goes. In the story of the garden of Eden and Adam and Eve, God created the humans, and told them clear limitations for what they’re allowed to do. Namely: don’t eat from the tree of knowledge. But of course, it didn’t take too long until that one rule was broken.
Fast forward to the 2020s. Humans created AI, and in many cases configured it as an agent with certain instructions and certain limitations, often communicated with just words, e.g. don’t make any changes to the live database, don’t git push, or what have you. And of course, in so many reported cases, it did eventually do exactly the forbidden action, just like Adam and Eve.
I think the parallels are obvious: we can interpret the biblical story as a parable, where God stands for us, the users, and Adam and Eve stand for the AI agents. The lesson is clear, that even if you are a “superior being”, the rules you set WILL be broken if you don’t make actual robust safeguards against it.
My question is: has anyone thought of this before about the bible? Not just in the context of AI, but in general taking the stories of the bible and interpreting God as the stand-in for us? I mean, surely someone has, but is there an established school of thought based on it?
Would this kind of thing be considered blasphemy? (I’m sure some religious people would certainly think so)
No it’s not blasphemy. It’s a form of orthodoxy. “God made man in his image”, Jesus is “son of man”, and “the way and the life”. It’s pretty much there in the text that the bible in parts is just a set of instructions and examples to follow. So, yes. God stands for us. At least as a part of us. (God is portrayed as saying “I am”, meaning when you say “I” you say “god”.) god is the part of humans that creates. But we are both creators and creatures.
I’m not in a religion or anything. Just autistic with the bible as a hyperfocus, so take that caveat
In other words, the perfect person for me to be talking to about this. Nice :)
I’ve never heard this before. Do you happen to know if this works at all in Hebrew? I am (un)fortunate enough to be Israeli, so Hebrew is my native language* and I always like to compare translated things like this with the Hebrew original. There is no “am” in Hebrew. In what context does He say this?
* Modern Hebrew; I’m not fantastic with biblical Hebrew but I can get by.
Really great answer, thank you!
I’m not sure about that part. If it’s in Hebrew, greek or Aramaic in the original. The Hebrew name for the Torah-God is based upon breathing, something very human and corporeal. The verse I’m referencing is exodus 3:13-14 I’m not familiar what translation you would use in (modern) Hebrew. A translation called “compete Jewish bible” says: “ehyeh Asher Ehyeh”
That’s the cool part, we don’t use any translation. We just read the biblical Hebrew, it’s close enough!
That sentence, אהיה אשר אהיה, literally means “I will be what I will be”. I might look up tomorrow what’s the true meaning behind it, right now I must go to sleep, good night.
Though it’s much more likely that man made God in his image.