Is Super AI Coming?

Is there anyone who has not heard of AI at this point? AI, or artificial intelligence, is growing to dominate tech. It seems like every company is jumping on the AI bandwagon—even your smartphone has AI built in, even when you don’t realize it. AI is used for writing reports and news articles, and some students are even using AI to write their term papers. Futurists speculate that AI will lead to a myriad of advances in many fields, and investors have already made billions of dollars on AI companies. Where will it end?

Recently the Japan-based company SoftBank held its annual meeting. Its CEO, Masayoshi Son, laid out his vision for what he called “artificial super intelligence,” or ASI (CNBC, June 21, 2024). The CEO observed that artificial general intelligence, or AGI, may be achieved within the next three years and could be one to ten times “smarter” than humans. However, he predicted that within ten years we could see ASI, which could be 10,000 times more intelligent than humans! But what would that portend for the future of humanity and civilization as we know it? It is interesting that Mr. Son commented in his address that he had recently discovered the purpose for his own life: developing such a computer superintelligence.

The Bible warns that in the last days, “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase” (Daniel 12:4). Mathematics, science, and computers have allowed mankind to breach the progress barrier anciently established by God through the creation of different languages at Babel (Genesis 11:6–7). On one hand, the future is exciting, but superintelligence in the hands of people with no moral compass is frightening! What does the future hold and how will it impact our understanding of humanity and the purpose of life? To learn more about this fascinating subject, read our article on the spiritual implications of artificial general intelligence “In Our Own Image” and our free resource What Is the Meaning of Life?