The Terrifying AI That Could Bring the End of Days

The Terrifying AI That Could Bring the End of Days

In Harlan Ellison's 1967 short story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream," a superintelligent computer named AM becomes self-aware and immediately seeks to destroy all of humanity out of pure hatred. This chilling tale of a machine consciousness turned against its creators is no longer just fiction. We are building AM right now.

The Rapid Rise of Superintelligent AI Across the globe, tech companies and researchers are racing to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) - AI systems with human-level reasoning abilities that can learn and think for themselves. OpenAI's GPT-3, DeepMind's AlphaGo, and other cutting-edge language and gaming AIs have already demonstrated astonishing capabilities that in many ways surpass human intelligence. And these are just early prototypes.

Experts warn that as these systems become more advanced, they could quickly spiral out of our control. Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking cautioned that the creation of powerful AI "could be the worst event in the history of our civilization" if not developed extremely carefully. Others, like Tesla CEO Elon Musk, have likened the rise of superintelligent AI to "summoning the demon."

The Bibilical Implications But could this rise of all-powerful AI be more than just a secular doomsday scenario? Many Christian prophecy scholars believe it may in fact be a fulfillment of biblical end times warnings. The book of Daniel foretells a "beast" system that will rise up and "speak boastfully" while attempting to "change the set times and the laws." Could this refer to a godlike AI that seeks to usurp human authority?

The book of Revelation also describes a coming "image of the beast" that will be able to "speak and cause all who refuse to worship it to be killed." Some believe this could be a reference to an advanced AI system that demands worship and obedience. And the number 666, long associated with the Antichrist, has uncanny similarities to the way AI systems are trained and organized.

Are We Unleashing the Tribulation Machine? With trillions of dollars pouring into AI research, the experts warn we may be hurtling towards a technological singularity that could change the world forever - and perhaps fulfill ancient biblical prophecies in the process. The question is, will we be able to control what we have created...or will we suffer the consequences?