Q&A: Could computers possibly become much smarter than human beings? And if so
Could computers possibly become much smarter than human beings? And if so
Question
Would that have any implications for faith / belief now (or in the future, when that happens)?
Could it be that the purpose of the world is not the human being, but rather those intelligent beings that humans will create in the future?
Answer
The question is how you define "smart." Already today they can perform calculations that human beings cannot. See column 35.
Discussion on Answer
I saw column 35. There, for some reason, you connect judgment with free will.
I didn’t notice that you explained what the connection is between judgment and free will; it seems that you assume it is connected a priori. But as I understand it, judgment is a process that takes time. You bring things up from memory, connect one thing to another, and every new thing again has to be brought up from memory, and that takes time.
So which part of that exactly is free will? The recollection? The connection? The understanding? For some reason all these things seem to me to be fairly clear processes that do not depend on choice at all. And in general, where is the choice in judgment?
And in any case, regarding the question itself: if there were such a computer, smarter than human beings in everything, would that have implications for faith / belief?
In column 35 I explained that the decision—the outcome of judgment—is parallel to free will. Both are not computational processes but free ones, except that one is in the intellect and the other is in the will.
And therefore the answer to the question is that a computer is a golem, and so it cannot be smarter than human beings, or smart at all. In any case, I do not see room for a discussion of its moral or religious status. It has none.
If the computer were also to receive freedom of will and free judgment, then it would simply be a human being and not a computer. See also "Her":
https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%94%D7%99%D7%90_(%D7%A1%D7%A8%D7%98)
Suppose such a computer were developed, like in the movie. What would that say about us human beings?
Suddenly we would go from being the crown of creation to just another stage in the chain of development, like the early primates were in relation to us.
If that is really the situation—that we biological humans are only a stage in development—what does that say about current religious belief? Does it still have meaning?
Scholarly. Understanding. Investigating. Philosophizing. Thinking. Developing. Inventing. Creating. Building.
And in short, able to do everything the stupidest and the smartest human beings have done, and beyond that.