What was the last thing you asked ChatGPT?

Honestly, I don’t use ChatGPT that much. My team members do, and I occasionally use it for translations, but I haven’t yet developed the habit of relying on it as a personal assistant.

So you don’t have it tackle profound philosophical questions about the future of humanity? Those seem to be your main concerns.

I am indeed deeply interested in these big questions, but I don’t think ChatGPT is currently the best source for answers. That could change over time, of course. In the coming years, I think we’ll see very interesting achievements from artificial intelligence. It will be able to create entire books and movies, make scientific discoveries, and even produce religious and philosophical revelations. But we’re not there yet.

What kind of revelations?

Religion is rarely discussed in relation to AI, yet it holds the potential to spark religious revolutions. Take Judaism, for example, which is fundamentally text-based. Jewish religion attributes authority and sanctity to certain texts. The Bible is the primary sacred book, but it is interpreted by people who in turn write new books about it, which others then read, debate, and produce further interpretations. Over centuries, more and more texts accumulate about texts interpreting other texts.

Now there’s so much accumulated text that no one can read it all. No single rabbi has an all-encompassing overview, but artificial intelligence could have one. Imagine, then, an AI rabbi from the future, capable not only of sifting through the entire textual tradition of Judaism but also remembering every word ever written, noticing new connections and thus offering previously unknown interpretations.

Because that is what rabbis do: they read these texts to find new connections and interpretations. What happens to Judaism if such an AI rabbi appears? Would other rabbis and laypeople accept it as a religious authority if it presented a completely new approach? It might face resistance. Yet one key feature of AI is that it’s the first text in history capable of making counterarguments. The Bible doesn’t respond; in that sense, it’s a silent text. People read it and decide what meaning to assign to it, but no matter how many questions they ask, the Bible doesn’t answer. With AI, it’s different. Let’s say a rabbi rejects the revolutionary approach of artificial intelligence, claiming it contradicts a principle in the Mishnah or a statement by Maimonides. The AI rabbi could argue back, pointing out that another passage in the Mishnah clearly supports its interpretation.

So it would be wise not only for politicians and CEOs to prepare for unknown challenges, but for rabbis and priests also?

Absolutely. This is often overlooked because we think artificial intelligence is just about computers and technology, but it could deeply affect religion too. AI can come up with new ideas, make decisions, and engage in dialogue with us, which is unprecedented in human history. A text-based religion is particularly prone to the possibility of being disrupted by a new text-based technology. This is not without historical precedents: one leading factor of the Protestant Reformation was the invention of the printing press in 15th-century Europe. Before that, manuscripts had to be copied painstakingly by hand, so very few copies of the Bible existed, and the process of reproducing the texts was essentially monopolised by the Catholic Church. With the advent of the printing press, it became possible to produce many copies at low cost, so nearly anyone could have a Bible at home. As a result, people began questioning whether Catholic priests were interpreting the holy texts correctly. “I also read Scripture myself, and it says something different from what you claim.” That’s how the printing press sparked the Reformation. However, one thing didn’t change: even after this, only humans came up with new, revolutionary ideas, like Martin Luther. AI, on the other hand, could not only make the dissemination of texts significantly easier but could also create texts on its own, propose new ideas, and discuss them with the reader.

Speaking of discussing and arguing back: just for fun, I asked ChatGPT what it perceives to be the weaknesses in Harari’s critique of artificial intelligence. Would you like to hear its response?

Of course.

“Yuval Noah Harari’s critiques of artificial intelligence are undoubtedly valuable, as they provoke thought on ethical, political, and existential issues surrounding technology. However, his arguments are somewhat one-sided, speculative, and occasionally overly dystopian. His focus on negative consequences often obscures potential benefits, and in discussing topics like job displacement, power dynamics shifts, and AI gaining consciousness, his approach lacks nuance and insufficiently acknowledges existing efforts to address these problems.” What do you think?

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