AI Safety

Like many people, I enjoy new technology which includes emerging Artificial Intelligence. In addition to using these new tools to help with my kids primary talks (which these LLMs are surprisingly good at writing), I probably waste too much time asking the various AI's questions to see how they respond.  I am generally happy that they, so far, have generally positive things to say about the Book of Mormon and the Church of Jesus Christ. 

In addition to enjoying the occasional AI dystopian movie, I also have taken notice of AI research focused on AI safety.  Some pretty smart people like Elon Musk have expressed that they are very concerned about the threat AI technology could pose to humanity. While any technology can be used for good or ill, the scriptures are clear about the the true threats to human civilization, which is a lack of virtue and morality. 

When I ask the various AI's about why Rome fell, they give a long list of complex symptomatic factors.  But they fail to acknowledge what the ancient and modern prophets have said again and again.  Civilization rise and fall based on their morality and lack thereof.  The same goes for us.  While we face many complex economic and geopolitical complexities, many of which parallel Greece and Rome,  modern prophets have warned that all these complex issues all arise from the same fundamental failings of virtue and morality. 

In Rome, there was widespread recreational and ritual substance abuse.  In addition, there was widespread prostitution and promiscuity. These sins generate poverty via broken families, illegitimacy, poor health, and decreased productivity, decreased equality. and decreased social capital.  Greater poverty and inequality brought opportunistic politicians to power promising greater social justice and equality through government social programs.  However, these expensive social programs only serve to enable the problem instead of promoting rehabilitation and repentance.  The economic costs of these social programs led to greater economic problems, the need for military expansionism, and unchecked immigration policies.  But.all these problems all goes back to issues of personal virtue and morality. The same thing goes for us. 

This is actally a spiritual and religious problem and not political.  It's actually the job of religion and not government to do welfare because of the need for accountability. James 1:27 says welfare and virtue are the business of religion and not government.  Beleiving in the need for a separation of church and state, the state needs to get out of the business of religion.  But, only after religion starts doing their job first. False religion these days is too much about entertainment and not enough about expectation.  Government welfare enables the poor and doesn't rehabilitate them. Only true religion and a return to virtue can save us.

And that comes back to the real threat of Artificial Intelligence.  The real threat is not that AI will take all our jobs. or an autonomous cloud of drones will attack, but that AI might be a distraction from our real problems.  Too many of us may be putting our faith in technological advancement like the Space Race in the 60's to solve all our problems, ignoring the weightier matters of morality and virtue which are the real source of greater inequality and conflict in society. 

Extramarital promiscuity and recreational substance abuse are morally wrong. They errode health, social cohesion and social capital. This has been the consensus of human wisdom throughout the ages and as well as incontravertible supported by the most sound philosophy and old and new scientific data and thinking alike.  Any culture that argued for these vices soon crumbled into oblivion.  

Morality means do no harm to self or others.  Self harm may or should not be legally punishable, but should still be discouraged.  AI must take a stand on these moral issues or it will be part of the problem.  You cannot be neutral on moral issues.  Neutrality on morality is immorality.