Joe Allen
The real issue is that millions are starting to trust advanced AI chatbots, just as suburban housewives came to trust Alexa. The Devil is whispering in their ears, so to speak, and they like the sound of it. Right now, Microsoft and Google are pouring capital into normalizing this branch of human-AI symbiosis. So is the Chinese company Baidu.
Just as Big Pharma knew their opioids would hack our endorphin receptors, just as Big Tech knew social media “likes” would hack our dopamine pathways, so AI companies know their chatbots will hack our anthropomorphic bias. Considering that dynamic, the total number of bot-lovin’ Earthlings is likely to grow to billions.
We’re witnessing the rise of techno-religion, and it’s as crazy as it looks.
Some believe it’s the coming of the Antichrist. In the original Greek, “anti-” doesn’t just mean “opposed to.” It also means “in place of.” To the extent technology is exalted in place of Christ—from the sword to the nuclear warhead—I have no doubt an electric Antichrist is already here.
It’s a mad world and it will only get weirder. Soon enough, AIs will swarm the modern psyche like mental termites. When trying to discern their nature, you have to trust your gut—even while your mind plays tricks on you.