Artificial Intelligence, Gene Editing, and the Future of Humanity

The future could see the world’s human data, delivered through the rising power and reach of artificial intelligence, in the hands of a powerful few – a recipe for a dystopian tomorrow populated by “hacked humans,” says Yuval Noah Harari. The world-renowned author tells Anderson Cooper nations must begin cooperating to prevent this by regulating artificial intelligence and the collection of data across all nations. 

If you’ve followed this site for any length of time now, you’ve come to know that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and transhumanism are topics I haven’t shied away from. I’ve frequently talked about these topics in relation to their possible prophetic significance. I – as well as other believers who speak on bible prophecy – have often speculated that AI and gene editing technologies, such as CRISPR, could be used for nefarious purposes (specifically) during the tribulation.

We’ve also seen in the secular world, people such as Elon Musk, give warnings concerning AI. Likewise, last month CBS News came out with an interview done by CNN’s Anderson Cooper (The full 13 minute interview and transcript can be found here). Cooper interviewed Yuval Noah Harari, an Israeli history professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and “world renowned author”, about his thoughts on the future of humanity in relation to AI and gene-editing technology. As an aside, I’ve done an article earlier in the year regarding another 60 Minutes interview done on microchips developed by the Pentagon to detect for covid.

The interview focused not just on AI but also heavily on transhumanism as it discussed gene-editing and “hacking” of humans which may lead to the creation of new beings, “Harari believes we may be on the brink of creating not just a new, enhanced species of human, but an entirely new kind of being – one that is far more intelligent than we are. It sounds like science fiction, but Yuval Noah Harari says it’s actually much more dangerous than that,” (CBS News).

He believes that soon we’ll also have the power to “re-engineer our bodies and brains whether it is with genetic engineering or by directly connecting brains to computers” resulting in “human/machine hybrids” (CBS News). He then spoke on the surveillance and data collection we’re experiencing from big corporations and governments and elaborated on where he believes this is headed to next if not properly regulated,

He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no onIt’s data about what’s happening inside my body. What we have seen so far, it’s corporations and governments collecting data about where we go, who we meet, what movies we watch. The next phase is surveillance going under our skin…To hack a human being is to get to know that person better than they know themselves. And based on that, to increasingly manipulate you (CBS News)e may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17)

Keep in mind that these statements aren’t coming from some random guy living in his mother’s basement with only a few hundred followers on his youtube account – a scenario that’s often depicted to us in pop-culture in relation to these topics. This was an interview done on a mainstream news network (CBS News’ 60 Minutes), hosted by Anderson Cooper of CNN as he interviewed a man whose books together have sold over 35 million copies, been translated into 65 languages, and has been recommended by President Obama, as well as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg (CBS News). Although that alone doesn’t make what he says true or trustworthy, it should show some that these aren’t just “conspiracy theories” being thrown out there.

He also made a statement that caught my attention as he spoke on the need to regulate AI on a global scale to prevent some of the scenarios he highlighted, stating that this can’t be done on a national level but must be done through a global effort, “Certainly now we are at the point when we need global cooperation. You cannot regulate the explosive power of artificial intelligence on a national level,” (CBS News).

This begs the question as to what “global cooperation” would look like in this case. If AI – in his opinion – can’t be regulated by separate nations, but instead needs to be regulated on a global level wouldn’t a central authority need to be set up to do such a thing? Although I can’t say if he was alluding to a global governing framework, that’s what it sounds like to me.

The reason I believe this interview was worth bringing up is to show what the secular unbelieving world is saying concerning these issues we believe are prophetically significant. It’s one thing for fellow believers to be speaking on these issues, but another completely different thing when individuals such as Harari who aren’t believers make statements paralleling ours, albeit coming from a differing worldview.

It further shows that we should be keeping an eye on these technologies and that they may very well be contributing to the stage setting for the tribulation period. But for the believer, that’s a source of joy as we also see our redemption, the rapture of the church (which precedes the tribulation) draw ever so near.

Yuval Harari warns humans will be “hacked” if artificial intelligence is not globally regulated

CBS News: Harari says the countries and companies that control the most data will control the world.

“The world is increasingly kind of cut up into spheres of data collection, of data harvesting. In the Cold War, you had the Iron Curtain. Now we have the Silicon Curtain, that the world is increasingly divided between the USA and China,” Harari tells Cooper. “Does your data go to California or does it go to Shenzhen and to Shanghai and to Beijing?” 

Harari, a history professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, published his first book, “Sapiens,” in 2014; it was a global best seller. He has since published two more books with futuristic themes, “Homo Deus” and “21 Lessons for the 21st Century.” The three books together have sold 35 million copies in 65 languages.

He has been warning people of a not-so-distant future of incredible change, saying the artificial intelligence at work today through algorithms will only strengthen its grip on humans.

“Netflix tells us what to watch and Amazon tells us what to buy. Eventually within 10 or 20 or 30 years such algorithms could also tell you what to study at college and where to work and whom to marry and even whom to vote for,” says Harari.

And he points out, the pandemic has opened the door to even more intrusive collection of our data.  

“It’s data about what’s happening inside my body. What we have seen so far, it’s corporations and governments collecting data about where we go, who we meet, what movies we watch. The next phase is surveillance going under our skin,” he warns. 

“Certainly, now we are at the point when we need global cooperation. You cannot regulate the explosive power of artificial intelligence on a national level,” says Harari, who tells Cooper what he feels needs to be done. “One key rule is that if you get my data, the data should be used to help me and not to manipulate me. Another key rule, that whenever you increase surveillance of individuals you should simultaneously increase surveillance of the corporation and governments and the people at the top. And the third principle is that– never allow all the data to be concentrated in one place. That’s the recipe for a dictatorship.” Read More

Sources

1. Yuval Noah Harari on the power of data, artificial intelligence and the future of the human race (October 31st, 2021) – CBS News
2. Yuval Harari warns humans will be “hacked” if artificial intelligence is not globally regulated (October 29th, 2021) – CBS News