The Daily Planet #76: The AI Bubble, Part 1

Is it a Bubble?

Even Sam Altman says so, while following it up with promises to invest a trillion dollars in data centers. But fears of a financial bubble severely underestimate what's going on with AI. SEC investigators who were worried about subprime loans did not meet with the Pope and affirm that:

AI must never be developed or used in ways that threaten, diminish or disqualify human life, dignity or fundamental rights. Human intelligence — our capacity for wisdom, moral reasoning and orientation toward truth and beauty — must never be devalued by artificial processing;

It's rare (once in a generation? once in a century? once in a civilization?) there's a technology that promises to change how we work, fight and and pray at once.

Over the next four weeks, I am going to investigate how AI is bubbling into our culture, though with a distinct focus on the financial aspects, since that's what's in the news right now.

Today's link from Noema (familiar source!) explores concerns about the impact of advancing technology, especially artificial intelligence, on humanity's spiritual and ethical foundations. Drawing on Martin Heidegger's philosophy, it highlights his fear that the rise of cybernetics and technological dominance threatens to extinguish the deeper essence of Being, leaving humanity spiritually diminished and trapped in nihilism.

Heidegger's declaration, "Only God can save us," underscores the perceived helplessness in redirecting this technological trajectory. Echoing this, Pope Leo XIV warns that AI risks undermining Christian humanism and the inviolable dignity of the person, cautioning against a future where humans become mere functions or algorithms.

Gardels reflects on the enduring power of humanism, rooted in religious tradition, as a guiding force that might yet steer Western civilization (I am being specific about 'Western' here, there are other civilizational possibilities with distinct emphases) through the challenges posed by rapid technological change.

‘Only God Can Save Us’ | NOEMA

How much compute does the Pope have?