From newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!nexus.yorku.ca!tony Tue Jan 28 12:17:57 EST 1992
Article 3162 of comp.ai.philosophy:
Newsgroups: comp.ai.philosophy
Path: newshub.ccs.yorku.ca!nexus.yorku.ca!tony
>From: tony@nexus.yorku.ca (Tony Wallis)
Subject: Re: "The proof from A.I."
Message-ID: <1992Jan26.213411.13396@newshub.ccs.yorku.ca>
Sender: news@newshub.ccs.yorku.ca (USENET News System)
Organization: York University
References:  <1992Jan24.182831.2470@arizona.edu>
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 1992 21:34:11 GMT

Bill Skaggs (bill@NSMA.AriZonA.EdU) muses : 
> .. a novel proof of the existence of god ..  we [will] create machines
> with superhuman intelligence.  [They will] create machines more
> intelligent than themselves. .. the intelligence of each generation ..
> most likely .. will increase exponentially. .. the increases must
> saturate, due to fundamental physical limitations ..  Call a machine
> that approaches the fundamental limits a "god".  Once the exponential
> growth has been initiated ..  it cannot take very long to approach
> godhood -- say, another 100 years.  But if *we* can bring about the
> existence of a god in the near future, some alien culture somewhere in
> the universe has surely already done it.  Therefore at least one god
> exists.               -- (with tongue only slightly in cheek) Bill
                                        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
(only sightly ?)
A fun (and frequent) theme in science fiction, but questionable theology.
Essentially, you are saying
    Divinity = the asymptote of computational power.
This is a modern version of the very old idea that
    Divinity = the asymptote of (military, political, technological, ..)
               power.
The name of the above equation is Hubris.
Read the world's history or mythological/theological literature for
numerous counter-examples to Hubris.

--
tony@nexus.yorku.ca = Tony Wallis, York University, Toronto, Canada
   


