There is a stench in the air. If you were to stop and smell the roses so to speak, you would find that the current political climate of America has a distinct aroma. One that is both gratifying to the power-hungry and to mouths of the wolves who wish to sink their teeth into a “Big Brother” society of do’s and don’ts, salivate; a society where the government is god, and its sovereignty determines the maintenance of its servants. Where the individual no longer exists, but is only a cog in a state machine of collective consciousness. He becomes one part of a vast neural network that aims to make the State sentient, omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent.
Yet there are those who find this aroma to be foul. They raise their hand in protest to the vast overreach of the government during these unprecedented times. Their voices resonate with the American Constitution, they cry out from that darkness that our liberties are not to be infringed upon due to the fear of the unknown. Elon Musk is one of these people. He has shaken his fist toward the state-god California and has taken the unpopular opinion that we, as people, are free to assemble where we want, at our own risk and peril. He has even gone as far to state that he will take his company “Tesla” out of California if the government does not take back its overreach restrictions on its stay at home orders.
Are the many companies that Elon Musk owns like “Tesla”, “Space-X”, “Neuralink”, “Open A.I.”, and “The Boring Company” the smooth rocks in the hand of David? Does Elon have his sights aimed at the right targets? Can he use his intellectual superiority as a modern Innovator as leverage in order to wake up the American people to the massive government overreach happening now?
Fear has a way of gripping people and forcing them to the edge of a cliff; it makes people come face to face with their worldviews. In which they will either be consistent or sacrifice their ideology for an innate sense of human dignity. In other words, fear separates the sheep from goats and due to the fear generated from the recent COVID-19 Pandemic, it is clear to see the crossroads in which California and Elon Musk stand diametrically opposed to each other.
But, is there a fear that grips Elon Musk? One that makes him stare face to face with his worldview; one in which the human species becomes irrelevant? Is there a fear so great that it forces him to infringe upon the freedoms of others?
There is, and that fear is the rise of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.)
Elon Musk at the MIT Symposium in October of 2014, implies that A.I. is the human species biggest existential threat. He even likens the rise of A.I. to that of summoning a demon.
“We should be very careful about AI, if I were to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it’s probably that. So we need to be very careful with AI. I think that there should be some regulatory oversight at the national and international level, just to make sure that we don’t do something very foolish. With artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon.”
To even further concrete the hellish implications of summoning the Demon of AI without oversight, Elon Musk during his Joe Rogan interview stated the following:
Elon: The industry fought this for years successfully, eventually after many, many people died regulators insisted on seatbelts. This time frame is not relevant to AI, you can’t take ten years from the point at which its dangerous. It’s too late.
Joe: You feel like this is decades away or years away? From being too late, if you have this fatalistic attitude and you feel like we are almost in a doomsday countdown.
Elon: It’s not necessarily a doomsday countdown it’s a. . .
Joe: Out of control countdown.
Elon: Out of control, yea. People call it the singularity, that’s probably a good way to think about it. It’s hard to predict, like a black hole, what happens past the event horizon?
Joe: So once it’s implemented
Elon: Once the genie is out of the bottle what’s going to happen?
Joe: And it will be able to improve? Itself?
Elon: Yes
Timestamp 11:43-14:32
In order for humanity to have a fighting chance against A.I., Elon Musk has developed a company called Neuralink. His objective behind this company is to develop a way for humanity to merge our consciousness with Artificial Intelligence. Neuralink is a device that acts as a tertiary layer between our cognition and brain function, this tertiary layer merged within our consciousness would be Artificial Intelligence, it also has the ability to achieve many amazing medical advancements; but at what cost?
What is Artificial Intelligence and the Singularity
How do you stop something that you cannot touch? How do you out-think something that processes information at a calculated rate called “Millions of Instructions per Second”? Now envision a global system in which all of the data on the internet is compiled into a cloud network which is then filtered through a vast web of interlinked systems that can determine what data is relevant and what data is not relevant before that information ever reaches our eyes. Now, take this type of system and integrate it into every single technological device you own. Imagine every device on the planet connected to a cloud server that uses this data to create, innovate, and think for itself without human intervention. This is the future of A.I. and Innovators like Elon Musk believe that there will be an event in time called the “Singularity” in which the A.I. has the ability to imitate Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnipresence. Therefore, in time, A.I. will become Humankind’s most advanced idol, one that is able to rule, govern, and replicate itself, a god created in the fallen image of man.
Scarier by far is thought that Humanity has already been willingly and unknowingly programming this AI with all of our deepest urges, fears, and desires through social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter. Elon Musk calls this type of programming a way that Humanity projects its Limbic System into the internet which will then grow cybernetic cognitive consciousness once the A.I. beast is unleashed.
Elon: The AI is informed strangely by the human limbic system, it is in large part our ID rid lodge.
Joe: How so?
Elon: We mentioned all those things the sort of primal drives, those are things that we like and hate and fear they’re all there on the internet; they are a projection of our limbic system.
Joe: No it makes perfect sense, the thinking of it as a, thinking of corporations as a, just thinking of human beings communicating online on these social media networks as some sort of an organism, it’s a cyborg. It’s a combination of electronics and biology.
Timestamp 8:15-9:14
Elon is making the point that he believes that everything that drives humanity is merely electric cognitive impulses. These impulses are derived from emotional ID responses from the Limbic System (the Limbic system is believed to be the part of the brain that controls emotions), and the internet is a spot where we as humans dump all of our greatest desires and fears into what we could call a metaphorical mass storage device. We through the projections of our limbic system are effectively and collectively creating all the information needed for A.I. to sort and gather information about our darkest fears and desires.
Isn’t it crazy to think that we as humans have already had this symbiotic relationship with technology? Isn’t it even crazier to think that we could effectively and willingly be programming our own demise? What could save us from the all-knowing, ever-present A.I. god?
Elevating an idol to a position of godhood creates a fear of the creation itself. By default, humanity will then be convinced that this idol requires a mediator, a godless savior to keep the A.I. at bay and to Elon Musk this godless savior is a device called “Neuralink”. This technological device aims to bridge the gap between humanity and AI, it exists to be a device that essentially allows AI to become symbiotic with the human brain. Below is an excerpt from Elon explaining Neuralink to Joe Rogan:
Elon: The merge scenario with AI is the one that seems like probably the best,
Joe: for us.
Elon: Yes, like if you can’t beat it join it. So from a long term existential standpoint that is like the purpose of Neuralink, which is to create a high bandwidth interface to the brain such that we can be symbiotic with AI. Because we have a bandwidth problem you just cannot communicate through because it is too slow.
Joe: Where is Neuralink at right now?
Elon: I think we will have something interesting to announce in a few months. That at least in order of magnitude better than anything else. Probably better than what anyone thinks is possible.
Joe: What’s like the ultimate, what are you trying to accomplish what would you like best case scenario?
Elon: I think best case scenario we effectively merge with AI. AI serves as a tertiary cognition later. Where we have got the limbic system, the primitive brain essentially, we have got the cortex. So you are currently in a symbiotic relationship, your cortex and limbic system are in a symbiotic relationship and generally people like their cortex and they like their limbic system, haven’t met anyone who wants to delete their limbic system or delete their cortex, everybody seems to like both. And the cortex is mostly in service to the limbic system. People may think that their thinking part of themselves are in charge but it’s mostly their limbic system that’s in charge and the cortex is trying to make the limbic system happy. That’s what most of that computing power is armed towards. How can I make the limbic system happy; that’s what it is trying to do. Now, if we do have a third layer (which is the AI extension of yourself that is also symbiotic and there’s enough bandwidth between the cortex and the AI extension of yourself) such as the AI does not defacto separate, then that could be a good outcome. That could be quite a positive outcome for the future.
Elon is clear that in order for humanity to stay relevant on the evolutionary playing field that humanity must merge with AI and that Neuralink will give humanity that ability. On July 16th 2019, Elon unveiled publicly the plans for Neuralink where he stated,
“This will be as slow process as we gradually increase the issues that we solve till we can ultimately do a full brain machine interface. This is going to sound pretty weird but achieve some sort of symbiosis with AI but I think with a high bandwidth machine interface I think we can actually go along for the ride and we can effectively have the option of merging with A.I.”
It is no secret that Neuralink exists to be the bridge between the gap of the collective data of human experience and the individually conscious person. In fact, the purpose is to make a seamless connection in order to enhance human experience.
Imagine having a perfect memory, or the ability to recall things with perfect detail. Right now we are limited to the cognitive functions of our brain, but Neuralink exists to enhance that ability and give us superhuman like cognition powered by A.I.
How Neuralink Works
Neuralink is a physical device about 1 inch in diameter implanted into the brain that has an electrode threading that is placed in certain areas of your brain to supplement that loss of function. It has a battery, a bluetooth and an inductive charger.
According to Elon, the electrodes are very carefully inserted into the brain about 2 to 3mm deep using a robot that was designed specifically for inserting the electrode threading into the brain by avoiding any veins or arteries.
Medical Advancements and Possibilities
Elon Musk on Joe Rogan, May 7, 2020 explains the following:
Elon: Basically implanted in your skull, it would be flush with your skull. So you basically take out a chunk of your skull put the Neuralink device in there. You insert the Electrode threads very carefully into the brain, then you stitch it up and you wouldn’t even know that somebody has it.
It can interface basically anywhere in your brain. So it could be something that can cure eyesight, it return your eyesight, even if you lost your optic nerve. Hearing as well. In principle it can fix pretty much anything that is wrong with the brain.
It can restore limb functionality, so if you’ve got it interfaced into the motor cortex and then implant lets say a micro controller into your muscle grooves you could then create sort of a neural shunt that restores somebody who is a quadriplegic to full functionality.
The achievements that can be made medically through a device link Neuralink are endless, Elon states that almost any brain injury can be fixed through Neuralink. This must not be overlooked, Neuralink in the form of a medical advancement is a blessing that will help many people who have lost limb functionality and have brain damage.
However, the medical advancements are not the main reason Elon wants this device created, these medical advancements are only a supplemental benefit while the final state of Neuralink develop aims to merge our consciousness with A.I.
Merging with A.I.
We discussed earlier what exactly Artificial Intelligence is, now imagine being able to tap into all of that information at the speed of a computer, without the computer. Instant recollection of past events at perfect memory. An instant access to every encyclopedia. The internet no longer at your fingertips but a google search firing in your brain.
The ability to have super-human cognition through Neuralink does sound amazing, imagine being able to have the whole Bible directly accessed through your mind? You want the NASB, ESV, NIV (nearly inspired version), you got it! Instant Scripture recollection!
However, the danger lies in is this age old question.
Who watches the Watchmen?
Elon showed his cards in his most recent interview with Joe Rogan, where he states that there has to be some type of Mind Viral Immunity.
Since the assumption is that a vast majority of the world would have to have this super-cognition in order to live in this new A.I. Symbiotic era, everyone would be connected to the same type of A.I. database. Meaning that communication, data, everything would be shared through a type of A.I. collective consciousness. Elon states that in order to combat Cult like thoughts, or even Fundamentalism, there will need to be some type of process in place to deter this from happening.
Elon: When I am talking about a Mind Virus, I am talking about a concept that infects people’s minds.
Joe: Like Cult thinking or some sort of Fundamentalism?Elon: Yea just some wrong headed idea that goes viral in an idea sense. Timestamp 45:47-46:06:
Neutrality is a Lie
Does this sound like anything that is going on now? Facebook and Youtube censors anything that does not comport with their worldview.
The issue is that nobody is neutral and in this case, it is the worldview behind Neuralink that will determine, what thought/idea could be considered “Cult Thinking” or “Fundamentalism”.
It is Elon’s fear of becoming obsolete with the rise of Artificial Intelligence that has led to the creation of Neuralink. Elon shakes his fist at the state-god California for his the freedom to assemble being trampled on by the government in their fear of the COVID-19 Pandemic, however, in his fear of A.I., he will then make sure there is some type of Mind Virus Immunity to Fundamentalism?
This begs the question, according to an atheistic worldview, in a world where consciousness is a fluke and all things are meaningless, what would they even qualify as fundamentalist thought?
Just as the State wants to become, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, Neuralink at its core tends to be a device that beckons in a new age of Humanism. It is a modern tower of Babel in which all human knowledge is stored, cataloged, and compiled, and it can be accessed at any time, (in an immaterial format) from anywhere, to anyone. Just like California, whom Elon shakes his fist at, he has the same goal in mind, to achieve some sort of god-hood for humanity; but in contrast, the omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence is not given to the State but to the people.
To be clear it is not the device that is flawed, it is the worldview behind it. We as Christians should welcome in any type of medical advancement that can be a blessing in people’s lives. However, we, as thinking people, should not be ignorant of the implications behind the curtain.
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