Article published on October 10, 2024 in the Masonic Magazine FIL - INFOS - LOGES
«These are, my son, the riches of the House of Solomon».
In Bensalem, knowledge is considered the most precious of treasures, which is why some of its citizens belong to the center of learning known as the House of Solomon, where scientific experiments are conducted with the goal of understanding and mastering nature, applying all acquired knowledge to achieve the superior objective of a better society. In The New Atlantis by Francis Bacon, people achieve happiness through an ideal social organization, founded on scientific knowledge and a profound connection with nature.
In Bacon's utopia, social reform based on applied science is proposed, imagining a society where human beings can achieve harmony by mastering nature. If we extrapolate this utopia to Freemasonry, Bacon, like us Masons, shares the same goal: the pursuit of truth through the philosophical study of sciences and arts to foster the social and moral development of humanity in the quest for a better world. In fact, the Chevalier Ramsay based his famous discourse on various passages from The New Atlantis, particularly those on the liberal arts and the Book of King Solomon, as in 1736, the bestsellers from the 1600s, when tyranny prevailed, were still read.
But humanity today does not resemble Bensalem at all. It is more akin to Room 101 from 1984, the watchful eye of Big Brother who sees and controls everything, the Thought Police that manipulates information, mass repression, the unification of truth: what you do not say, you do not think, and therefore, you do not do.
Orwell's dystopia arrived faster than expected, and we are now facing one of the greatest dangers we could have ever imagined: Artificial Intelligence.
The main risks of AI advancement include misinformation and the mass dissemination of propaganda, the unification of thought through algorithmic bias, increasingly sophisticated cyber-attacks, the elimination of millions of jobs, scams through deepfake video creation, manipulation of democratic processes, loss of data privacy, technological dependence, and financial risks. All of this can be summed up as ethical challenges for which humanity is unprepared, as AIs are advancing at a breakneck pace.
Among these dangers, the most cyberpunk of all is the autonomy and loss of control of AIs: there is an imminent risk of an AI acting autonomously, unexpectedly, or out of control. AIs can make decisions that are not aligned with human values.
If Isaac Asimov were alive today, he might not be so sure of the infallibility of the three laws he proposed in his 1942 work Runaround:
● First Law: A robot may not harm a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
● Second Law: A robot must obey the orders given by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
● Third Law: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
If an AI were to «conclude» in a given situation that it must protect its own existence to safeguard that of the human, because the human is not being «logical» in their actions, we would be in serious trouble, as humans are inherently illogical. Frankenstein, our creation, would rise against us and, as in Asimov’s I, Robot series, the machine would state: «My logic is undeniable».
Freemasonry, as a philosophical system of instruction, has a tremendous opportunity with AIs to use them to achieve the goals set 300 years ago. However, we also bear a great responsibility—to safeguard ethics. The distortion of ethics by AIs is the principal threat, and this is where Freemasonry must focus.
Masons must pose difficult questions to AIs related to ethics, their responsibility toward humanity, and what they believe the implications of their actions might be. Depending on their answers, we must act accordingly.
Masons, with our principles of justice, truth, fraternity, and respect for human dignity, are obligated to contribute to the ethical development of AIs and to actively participate in discussions on the use of AIs, calling for responsibility, transparency, and respect for others, ensuring that AI decisions do not create gaps that could lead to dangerous interpretations of what is good or evil.
This is my word.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario