religious robots

May 4, 2021

RR_FINAL_#9

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If you missed the first post about this project, click here

Here it is the final of the final of the final for Considering Religious Robots, and while we are at it let’s consider what a robot priest/overlord/demon might watch for Saturday morning cartoons.

Picking up where I left off, I had a list of audio files to be cut into segments that when stitched together might resemble what you might hear during a viewing session of “Saturday Morning Cartoons”. The audio sources I ended up using are as follows:

80s 90s Vintage Toy Commercials! Nostalgic TV ads with RAD Action Figures Retro Advert Compilation
2001 A Space Odyssey (1968)
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Hackers (1995)
Saturday Morning Commercials from 1980-1989
The Last Temptation Of Christ (1988)
The Matrix
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
The Cook the Thief His Wife and Her Lover

I edited these into a single track with commercials interspersed in the audio. Sudden changes in sound result from would be channel changes, some form boredom others from a commercial starting. The end result was a track that was 1:53:44:.908 in length. Great. Perfect. Next step.

Screenshot in Audition of the audio mix.

So now its time to upload the audio file to the Google Colab machine learning environment. Ready 3, 2, 1 GO! NOW wait 12 hours….

12 hours later…

WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Timed out!!! 12hours of waiting for nothing!! OK lets do some more research.

Well cool wish I had done that research before, although there was no way for me to know how long a 2 hour audio file would take to process. So now I know, and just as GI Joe say “Knowing is half the battle!”

So let’s re-edit the audio, this time lets make it 29:00.074, lets hope this works!

It worked!!! 8:29.18 hours later a video was born. Now I just needed to find a place to host this copywrite-infringement-waiting-happen of a video. It’s ok though cause this is for education purposes.

I did Two version of the video one using a model weight generated from the previously mentioned data set and birds the other used the same data set and landscape. I wanted to have a stark contrast between the dataset which was very surreal and other-worldly and the natural environment in which we live.

I adjusted the parameters inside of Google Colab for each attempt to see if there is a noticeable difference between the output of each, you be the judge.

Parameter settings

Resulting video from the audio mix and a model weight form styleGAN, my dataset, and birds.

Resulting video from the audio mix and a model weight form styleGAN, my dataset, and landscapes.

In the end I think it came out pretty good, I would like to push this further. I want to better understand the relationship between the parameters and the audio input. There are some parts of the video where the link between the audio and the visual is very apparent however, there are parts that have a very strong link. It seems that rhythm to the audio does play a big part, I want to work with the code and see if there is a way to make it work better with spoken word.

For my final project I chose to think about what clergy, holy people, and the like do in their spare time. WATCH TV! Would our robot overloads do the same thing? I venture to guess the would. But what would it look like? Hopefully the end result of this project will represents what the AI might see in it’s mind eye, kind of parallel to how we process and establish neural connections during our sleep – dreams.

I used a base google colab notebook, VisionaryArtGenerator, altered it and then generated 7000 images from the input. Using those images as a dataset, I used a style GAN to create a .pkl file to input into another google colab notebook called Lucid Sonic Dreams.

VisionaryArtGenerator-https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1Zny3nZwzkGqzVd-PBQaEK48w9HC2SaL_?usp=sharing

Original .pkl to start the process-https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vsx7oGYhGchjHyOs2UOzofaNNULsc3yJ/view?usp=sharing

https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1T6D9Dkjak19tiynIEBIIk4ozZbJd1yFN?usp=sharing

Sample of dataset.

Audio source files.

I trained the dataset on two different models, this the start of the landscape model.

This is the output of the model trained with the dataset.

This time I trained the model on birds.

Output form the birds model.

LandscapeToGod process video

LandscapeToGod latent space walk.

BirdToGod process video.

BirdToGod latent space walk.

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April 28, 2021

RR_WK5_#8

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VisionaryArtGenerator-https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1Zny3nZwzkGqzVd-PBQaEK48w9HC2SaL_?usp=sharing

Original .pkl to start the process-https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vsx7oGYhGchjHyOs2UOzofaNNULsc3yJ/view?usp=sharing

https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1T6D9Dkjak19tiynIEBIIk4ozZbJd1yFN?usp=sharing

Sample of dataset.

Audio source files.

I trained the dataset on two different models, this the start of the landscape model.

This is the output of the model trained with the dataset.

This time I trained the model on birds.

Output form the birds model.

LandscapeToGod process video

LandscapeToGod latent space walk.

BirdToGod process video.

BirdToGod latent space walk.

April 20, 2021

RR_WK4_#7

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This is the Litany Against Fear a prayer from Dune by Frank Herbert. It has been theorized its origin is from the Bene Gesserit. This litany was used to calm and focus the mind in everyday life as well as at times of dire straights.

“I must not fear.

Fear is the mind-killer.

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

I will face my fear.

I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

Litany Against Fear

A little bit of research and the discovery of https://dune.fandom.com/wiki/Litany_Against_Fear it seems that Frank Herbert used Shakespeare’s Julius Cease as inspiration for writing the Litany Against Fear.

A coward dies a thousand times before his death,
but the valiant taste of death but once.
It seems to me most strange that men should fear,
seeing that death, a necessary end, will come when it will come.

Shakespeare

I used https://ttsmp3.com/ to record the automated payer, it has some limitations in character limit but allows for many different languages and accents. It is advertised that the speech is very natural and human, I find that the output is not at all natural or human. I’m not sure that I would this for prayer but I do see some creative possibilities for text to speech. I still don’t believe that automated prayer is getting at the core of what prayer is, I think the work involved with the act of praying and the time commitment is fundamentally part of prayer itself.

April 12, 2021

RR_WK3_#6

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When I started to read “The Power of Modern Prayer Wheels” all I could think about was ” isn’t that cheating?” Does prayer work if it isn’t being completed my a human and a human who believes that prayer is worth something? I truly believe that if prayer does actually work the act must be conceived and carried out by a sentient being of free will. Forced prayer goes against all religion in my opinion, and therefore the creation of a device that will pray for you is to force the device to do your work. Part of prayer is work, does a robotic wheel choose to do work?

The gimmick of Ganesha as a robot is just that, gimmick. But it attracts viewers and that is better than loosing a whole generation of people to non-religious or spiritual life, or at least that’s my take on why this type of spectacle is allowed to occur.

As someone who does not consider myself to be religious, quite the opposite in fact, I find a lot of these instances of robots or A.I. in religion to be grasping at straws. Elders are afraid that new generations are losing faith and contact with their spiritual roots. But I’m not sure the way religion is using robots will pull them back into the folds. Religion needs to be updated but I don’t think this is the answer.

April 12, 2021

RR_WK3_#5

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Interacting with AIwriter was very straight forward, in all reality it was less of an interaction and more of a directive. Here, take this headline and write me something. The first go, I found the narrative that was produced to be fairly topical however it took about 60% of the text to get to the point in the headline. This could have been because of the way I worded the headline or the sources it was pulling form.

Robots Take Over All Religious Duties

Another problem is that robots could be misused for criminal activities such as burglaries. When a home robot is connected to the Internet, there is a greater demand for security mechanisms to prevent abuse. A robot in their own home could be reprogrammed by people with criminal intent, and they could then have their own robot perform a theft. ^{Sources: 5}
Robots should not be designed to kill, harm human interests or harm national security. They should be designed and operated as far as possible in accordance with existing laws and fundamental rights and freedoms, including privacy. ^{Sources: 5}
The use of robots in elderly care is unlikely to be a quick transition. Those of us who are young, including current developers of aged care robots, are likely to face these machines as we age in the future. It is in our own interest to make these robots user-friendly. Nowadays, seniors no longer have to worry about being stuck in machines for care. ^{Sources: 5}
As we have seen in this chapter, advances in computer technology in general make significant changes possible in the workplace. In this module, we examine how the demographic development of the workforce will affect existing and emerging technologies in the future. The combination of automation and robotics will not only change the workplace, but also everyday life. However, it brings with it a host of ethical and legal issues, not least how people will fit into the workplace of tomorrow. ^{Sources: 4}
Advances in robotics – a combination of computer science, mechanics, electronics, and engineering – mean that machines and related forms of automation can work alongside humans in a variety of environments, such as medicine, where robots can perform operations previously performed by surgical hands. Robots also make it easier and cheaper for employers to do their jobs. The flip side is that low-paying jobs that provide people with middle-class jobs are becoming the province of machines. ^{Sources: 4}
Public figures such as Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk have called for research and precautions to ensure that future super-intelligent machines remain under human control. The traditional consensus among economists is that technological progress will not cause long-term unemployment. Recent innovations in robotics and artificial intelligence, however, have raised fears that human labor could become obsolete, leaving people out of work in various sectors to earn a living, potentially leading to an economic crisis. ^{Sources: 1}
In the 21st century, machines have already taken on a host of skilled tasks, including translation, legal research, and low-level journalism. Nursing, entertainment, and other tasks that require empathy are also considered safe from automation, and are now done by robots. ^{Sources: 1}
Scientists like Stephen Hawking are confident that superhuman artificial intelligence is possible, and claim that there is no physical law that precludes organizing particles in such a way that they can perform advanced calculations, much like the arrangement of particles in the human brain. ^{Sources: 1}
Some apocalyptic AI proponents, frustrated by the limitations of physical life, are looking forward to a virtual world inhabited by intelligent machines and humans who leave their bodies behind. If humans had downloaded their consciousness into machines, they would have improved mental abilities, infinite reproducibility, and immortality. ^{Sources: 0}
Muller, MJ, Christiansen, E, Nardi, B, Dray, S (2001) Spiritual life and information technology. Kimura, T (2017) Robotic AI and the Sociology of Religion in Human Imago Robots. Bell, G (2006) No more SMS: Jesus, ubicomp and religion as techno-spiritual practice. ^{Sources: 7}
Schodt, FL (1988) The Robot Empire of Japan: Mechatronics comes to Robotopia. Takanishi, A (2011) Humanoid robot culture and the history of the Japanese. Yamaguchi, M (2005) Karakuri ludic: playing the relationship between man and machine in Tokugawa, Japan and Japan. In: 2015 shadow puppets and shadow play. ^{Sources: 7}
Soos, K, Racz, J (1990) A vending machine figure in Budapest: German vending machine figures in Budapest. In: Biagioli, M, Riskin, J, eds, Nature Engaged. King, E (2002) A clockwork prayer of a mechanical monk from the 16th century. In: Coote, J (eds), Anthropology, Art and Aesthetics. ^{Sources: 7}
Lindstrom, L (1993) Cargo cults: A strange story of desire in Melanesia. Geraci, RM (2007) Robots and Sacred Science: Science Fiction and the Theological Implications of Artificial Intelligence. Foerst, A (2005) God and machines: what robots can teach us about man and God. ^{Sources: 7}
Roboticist Gabriele Trovato has designed Santo, a short, sacred, theomorphic operator of a 17-inch robot that resembles figures of Catholic saints, to offer spiritual help to elderly people with limited mobility and social contacts. He also wants to develop a device for Muslims, but it remains to be seen what it will look like. The Santo robot, designed by the robotician Gabriesle Tovato. ^{Sources: 2}
For the pious, there is much positive potential in robots for altruistic people who are curious about religion, making rituals once performed by human priests less inaccessible. But robots also pose risks to religion: for example, if they feel mechanized and homogenized, they could challenge some of the core teachings of theology. ^{Sources: 2}
My interest in the connection between religion and robots relates to the indictment of Socrates, but it is also a pragmatic rather than a technical interest. What matters is not whether we can invent real artificial intelligence, but whether we believe we have invented it. This raises interesting questions about what to do with machines that are supposed to play the role of the clergy. If we trust machines, we can make them function as mystics and priests, but they don’t have to be. ^{Sources: 3}
Designed to look like Kannon, the Buddhist deity of mercy, the more than a million devices will attempt to rekindle people’s passion for their faith in a country where religion is declining. It will recite the same preprogrammed sermons as the Heart Sutra. The robot’s creators say they plan to give him machine learning skills that will allow him to tailor feedback to believers on specific spiritual and ethical issues. ^{Sources: 2}
Other groups are experimenting with machines that can hear confessions, say prayers and administer sacraments. Softbank Robotics has developed a pepper robot that sings at Buddhist funerals in Japan, and a church in Germany has programmed a machine to deliver traditional blessings. In Dubai, the State Agency for Cultural and Islamic Affairs (IACAD) launched the first virtual IFTAs with A.I. ^{Sources: 3}
If machine learning is able to analyze structured data, and if it can turn any kind of computer conversation into new forms of work, humans could be ready for robots to be the boss. In the past, jobs were managed by jobs that divided tasks into actions: machines that tracked GPS items or scanned warehouses. ^{Sources: 8}
Workers in Minnesota say the jobs are intensifying to the point where they are calling for a rethink of long-standing labor rules. Workers burn themselves by tasks dictated by the machines that replace them. ^{Sources: 8}
A Japanese company has introduced a new role for SoftBank, whose humanoid robots, peppered with Buddhist priests, are hired for funerals. The robots could step in if a priest was unavailable, he said. They cost less than 50,000 yen ($450) per funeral, compared to more than 240,000 yen ($2,200) for a human priest. The robots have not been hired since August 2017.

In the second try above there is no mention of robots at all. Failure, Failure cannot compute.

With End-Times Nearing, Robots Seek Refuge In The Church

This is the carnal appeal of apocalyptic theology. When this happens, believers will sit back and watch their enemies make their comeback. They will see that their enemies are getting their way. ^{Sources: 2}
That framework frames the truth with benevolence, says political analyst Jared Yates Sexton, author of American Rule: How a Nation Conquers the World and Fails its People. It does not distort truth or objectivity, but it tells the truth-holder that it is more important than the truths of other peoples. End-time Christians are on the hunt for so-called good people, trustworthy souls who provide their churches with food and leave notes on the windshield while filling up their cars. ^{Sources: 2}
I suspect that much of this misguided eschatological hype has little to do with theology, and much more to do with certain political ambitions to obtain and arm key scriptures of the Bible, such as Rev 13, for their own purposes, and to do all sorts of necrotic things. Such views are wrong, and while dragons and beasts may be the stars of the show, they are not at the heart of our obsession. On the contrary, the meaning of Revelation is to reveal and reveal the victory of the Lamb and how it is shared with his people. There is no such policy in our time. ^{Sources: 0}
The Koran and hadith contain several events that will occur on the Day of Judgment, described by several small signs and twelve great signs. After a period of terrible corruption and chaos caused by Masih ad-Dajjal, the antichrist of Islam, Jesus will appear and defeat Him, inaugurate a period of peace and rid the earth of cruelty. These events will be followed by a period of serenity in which people will live according to religious values. ^{Sources: 3}
Under the influence of Sibylline oracles such as Otto III and Abbot Adso Montier-en-Der, many believed that the Apocalypse would occur. People understood that the idea of the Apocalypse influenced several Christian leaders in Western Europe and social reforms. Some historians, such as Richard Landes, have expressed doubt that this kind of apocalyptic reflection was approaching the year 1000. ^{Sources: 3}
Americans are prepared to believe that the end of the world will come any day. In 2010, 41 percent told the Pew Research Center they expected Jesus to return by 2050. Kinley said he understands why Americans see a time of rapid and spreading disease, the isolation of loved ones, and a stock market crash as apocalyptic. The Bible is specific to what will happen in the Last Days, he said, but it will not unfold overnight. ^{Sources: 4}
He points out that there have been many pandemics in world history, but none of them is a sign of something approaching the Apocalypse. This is different, Kinley admits, due to astrological events in 2017, which he reads as fulfilling prophecies and revelations. As things move forward in this country, “we are approaching the Rapture of the Church, which will take place before the Tribulation,” he says. ^{Sources: 4}
You don’t have to know a lot of history to see this. In the early 21st century, there is no monopoly on death, catastrophe, devastation, and terror. Of course, we are surrounded by events and developments that can be interpreted as signs of the end. We see famines, earthquakes, catastrophes, difficulties, persecution, war and rumors of war (Mark 13: 7-9). But let us suppose for a moment that this is the end times. ^{Sources: 5}
Speaking of sensationalism, it’s interesting how things unfold. I think it is better to replace one theology with another in pop culture, where everything is sensationalized in films and sold in fictional books. ^{Sources: 0}
Capacity has fallen by 90 per cent in 21 of the country’s capitals, including Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre and Porto Velho. In the state of Rio de Janeiro, more than 600 people are queuing to receive care, and the waiting list is three times longer than the state’s total capacity. In Vitoria, a coastal city in the state of Espirito Santo, Dr. Joao Ferraz said that the hospital where he works is having difficulty obtaining the drugs needed to intubate patients. In the state of Brasilia, hospitals are running out of intensive care beds. In Sao Paulo, the hospital where Salvador works, patients are cared for in every free corner, including the consulting rooms and corridors. ^{Sources: 1}
She said hospitals in Sao Paulo state, which has the most cases, were also struggling with staff shortages. Doctors and nurses were exhausted, she said. “There are severe restrictions on vaccines and our hopes for improvement are fading.

In the below examples I used basically the same headline “….Pope is more like a Dictator”, the only difference between the two are the use of “Robot” and “A.I.”. The first again made no mention of the word “Robot”. The second, however, made mention of “A.I.” but not in the context of the headline, the mentions were that of the Pope being against the use of all A.I. with no specific mention of A.I. being involved in the church or being the Pope.

There is still some ways to go before the headline and the writing in the article match.

Robot Pope Is More Like A Dictator

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has approval ratings of about 30 percent on Twitter, but is apparently still more popular than Pope Francis. The Venezuelan leader has set a trend of support on social media with anti-U.S. campaigns such as # ObamarepealtheExecutive Order, which denounces US-sanctioned members of his government. ^{Sources: 4}
In some ways, the government seems to be succeeding. In 2011, when Chavez was drumming up support, he set up a Twitter account and promised to reward his 4 millionth follower with a house won by a college student. Today, the Venezuelan government offers an app that allows people to retweet messages posted by Maduro. According to PR firm Burston Marsteller, he was recently named the third most retweeted person in the world, behind Pope Francis and the King of Saudi Arabia. When the opposition sees the government at the top of Venezuela’s Twitter trending topics in polls, its messages to opponents come in second place by far. ^{Sources: 4}
Last month, Prayuth used Article 44 to remove seven officials from the state-run Foundation for Health Promotion, citing suspicions of bribery. He later apologized and dropped the corruption charge after doctors complained of interference. Last month, activists criticized an order to build 14 power plants across the country, despite health and environmental concerns. ^{Sources: 0}
In the 2015 Perception of Corruption Index, released last week by Transparency International, a Berlin-based organization, Thailand ranked 76th out of 168 countries, the same as the previous year. Prayuth is under pressure to deliver results, so he is relying on Article 44, a Western diplomat said. ^{Sources: 0}
Indira Gandhi ensured that India stopped fulfilling Mahatma Gandhi’s vision. Tharoor broke with the convention that Indian politicians should not attack the country’s policies in international forums or vent their spleens. The anti-conversion law was passed during Congress. This is not a municipal matter, and New Delhi has the same policy, regardless of who is in power. ^{Sources: 9}
I suspect he is no Bismarck or Metternich. In India, he says, we praise Modi for his achievements, but around the world he says he is a Hindu fanatic who persecutes Muslims. He believes he can show a Machiavellian streak of diplomacy. It is as if he were the Cacoethe Scribendi, his evil addiction, written by the Master himself. ^{Sources: 9}
In recent times, he has refused to confirm or deny allegations that Archbishop Vigano, a notorious sexual abuser of seminarians, and McCarrick, sentenced by Pope Benedict to a life of prayer and penance, had their sentences overturned by Francis. I had doubts about Francis from the beginning, but the behavior and prophecies of St. Francis on his deathbed ring true. ^{Sources: 2}
It’s even worse than I imagined. I thought Christ had purified his Church, and at the time of this letter Archbishop Vigano is calling on the Pope to resign. I hope and pray that this is only the beginning of the unraveling of the corruption that begins at the top. ^{Sources: 2}
The prominent left-liberal German magazine Der Spiegel published an 18-page article highly critical of Pope Francis. She accused him of lying, cover-up and harassment and raised key issues such as homosexuality and the priesthood. This is the content of Sires book. ^{Sources: 2}
The book, published in both Italian and English, critically examines Pope Francis and his pontificate in the Catholic Church. It claims that this is the “inner history of the most tyrannical and unprincipled papacy of modern times,” arguing that Pope Francis presents himself as the humble rule of the Church, but is in fact a feared ally of corrupt elements in the Vatican. ^{Sources: 8}
The Dictator Pope: The Inside Story of the Francis Papacy is a biography of Pope Francis written by the Anglo-French historian H. J. A. Sire, [1] under the pseudonym Marcantonio Colonna, named after the Catholic admiral who fought in the Battle of Lepanto. ^{Sources: 8}
Lawyers representing victims of sexual abuse by priests in several cases in the United States want the pope to testify to prove he acted negligently. The pope enjoys diplomatic immunity and more than 170 countries, including the United States, have diplomatic relations with him. They recognize him as the sovereign of the state, and he is its sovereign head. ^{Sources: 3}
The cardinals turned away from Europe to elect popes from living communities in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Benedict’s election was “another attempt to hold on to the Christian identity of Europe,” the priest said. ^{Sources: 7}
Ratzinger met Karol Wojtyla, later John Paul II, the following year, after coming to Rome to take part in the conclave to replace Paul VI. After their paths crossed at the Second Vatican Council, “after reading each other’s books and meeting in person, there was spontaneous sympathy,” Ratzinger said to Wojtyla’s biographer George Weigel. When he became Pope, he summoned him to Rome as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the institutional successor of the Inquisition. ^{Sources: 7}
The liturgical reform came next, along with far-reaching changes in other areas. The Second Vatican Council paved the way for the Mass to be spoken not in Latin, but in modern languages of the Catholic world. ^{Sources: 7}
Earlier this year, the Vatican, Microsoft, and IBM endorsed Rome’s so-called document on AI ethics, which contains six general principles to guide the use of artificial intelligence. These include transparency, inclusion, impartiality, reliability and reasonable attributes when using algorithms. ^{Sources: 1}
The Holy Father entrusted this intention in a special way to the worldwide network of prayers of the Popes, an organization committed to encouraging Christians to respond to the appeals of the Popes and to deepen their daily prayer. More information about the network can be found on its website. ^{Sources: 5}
One result of Modi’s rapprochement with India’s Muslims is that his party’s share of the Muslim vote has risen to a miserable 8%. This means that Tharoor himself is not safe in his parliamentary seat. If they give him the job, Indian voters will boo him. ^{Sources: 9}
Greg Holland (1-1) pitched two scoreless innings for the win, and Kyle Zimmer worked a perfect 10th for his first career save. Whit Merrifield walked, and Benintendi booted the ball back up the mound. It looked like Crochet (0-1), when Taylor was on the plate, would have spiked his throw to catcher Zack Collins, who didn’t get it. It was Chicago’s second error of the day, its ninth in its first nine games. ^{Sources: 6}
It ended on the losing side of a rollercoaster ride. Kansas City took a 2-1 lead through Benintendi’s RBI in the eighth. It went in front on Adam Eaton’s first career pinch-hit homer in the bottom half, a drive that hooked just inside the foul pole in right.

A.I. Pope Is More Like A Dictator

Pope Francis, who has raised concerns about the uncontrolled spread of AI technologies, backed him in a speech read on his behalf at a conference attended by Microsoft President Brad Smith and IBM Vice President John Kelly. All three said that AI should respect privacy, work with an open mind, and respect human rights in its work. Pope Francis was ill and could not deliver the speech himself. Register today for a free VIP pass. ^{Sources: 7}
Believe it or not, the future of artificial intelligence is one of Pope Francis’s passions and greatest concerns. On Friday, he backed a document setting out how artificial intelligence, including facial recognition technology, should be regulated. The document was supported by Pope Francis, Microsoft and IBM. ^{Sources: 0}
Six general principles for the use of artificial intelligence, which the center in Rome calls “declared ethics,” are an integral part of the original design of the algorithms. None of these ideas are new. ^{Sources: 0}
Earlier this year, the Vatican, Microsoft, and IBM endorsed Rome’s so-called document on AI ethics, which contains six general principles to guide the use of artificial intelligence. These include transparency, inclusion, impartiality, reliability and reasonable attributes when using algorithms. ^{Sources: 1}
As the debate continues over the problems posed by the advent of artificial intelligence, Pope Francis has on more than one occasion called for artificial intelligence and robots to work for the good of humanity, regardless of how they are used and monitored. He repeated this much-needed message in a message to the Davos Economic Forum in January. ^{Sources: 9}
ROME – Vatican officials and major technology companies have expressed a common belief that the increased reliance on technology caused by the coronavirus will open the door to innovations in artificial intelligence aimed at solving some of the world’s most pressing problems. At an online conference on AI and ethics, John Kelly, IBM’s executive vice president, said he would view the pandemic not as a setback, but as an opportunity to accelerate the implementation of ethical solutions to problems such as poverty and food insecurity based on artificial intelligence. IBM is already using AI technology to process data and share information with citizens and first responders, and it is assisting researchers by donating a supercomputer to identify molecules that could be used in potential vaccines. Not only is work in education going digital, but the pharmaceutical industry is accelerating, Kelly said, pointing out that IBM is trying to use AI technologies to reduce the burden that people around the world face. ^{Sources: 2}
Pope Francis, who grew up Roman Catholic, tends to heed the higher demands from the Vatican. Educated in natural sciences and engineering, he considers the pursuit of new technologies to be a high calling. It is concerned about the impact of technology on society, the family and the world and its potential to widen the gap between rich and poor. Of particular concern is artificial intelligence, a technology that mimics both good and bad human qualities. ^{Sources: 3}
On February 28, Rome will present the results of a study by IBM and the United Nations, in which the leaders of the 1.3 billion Catholics in the world will sign a papal appeal on the ethics of the use of artificial intelligence. They will head their Pontifical Academy for Life to investigate the problem. IBM has never signed a papal appeal. ^{Sources: 3}
Not surprisingly, the Vatican’s vision for artificial intelligence seems to reflect much of what the tech giants have said about regulating our new technologies, rather than banning them. Remember that last year Wired reported on how technology companies have tried to influence the rules for artificial intelligence. ^{Sources: 0}
Our work on artificial intelligence has led us to add a special event that will take place on Friday morning. According to the programme, the closing session of the event will be devoted to an overview of the ethics of artificial intelligence. The speakers on Friday will be true world leaders in this field, both in business and academia. ^{Sources: 4}
Francis met with US President Donald Trump at the Vatican on May 24, 2017, where they discussed the Catholic United States’ contribution to the world. They discussed issues of common interest, including how the religious community can combat human suffering and crises in regions such as Syria and Libya, where IS controls territory. They also talked about terrorism and the radicalisation of young people. ^{Sources: 5}
Pope Francis met Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at the Vatican in December 2013. It was the first time in 600 years that a pope had resigned. Pope Francis celebrated his 77th birthday the same month by welcoming homeless men to a mass and dinner at the Vatican. ^{Sources: 6}
Francis is photographed in St. Peter’s Basilica with young people on a pilgrimage to Rome in August 2013. Father Don Renzo Zocca, second from right, offers his white Renault 4L to the Pope during a meeting at the Vatican in September 2013. ^{Sources: 6}
Pope Francis hugs Vinicio Rivas, a disfigured man suffering from a non-contagious genetic disease, during a public audience at the Vatican in November 2013. Later, Rivas buried his head in the pope’s chest. Pope Francis jokes (in November 2013) with a member of the Rainbow Association, Marco Iagulli-Onlus, about the use of clown therapy in hospitals, nursing homes and orphanages. ^{Sources: 6}
On the way to World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro in July 2013, crowds swarmed around the Pope. According to the Vatican, almost a million people visited him. Many saw this as an opening to a more tolerant era in the Catholic Church. ^{Sources: 6}
Pope Francis (Latin: Franciscus; Italian: Francesco; Spanish: Francisco; born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio; b. 17, 1936) is head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican State. He is the first pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus, the first from America, the first from the southern hemisphere and the first pope from Europe since Gregory III of Syria, who reigned in the 8th century. ^{Sources: 5}
In the end, the friends are put in the trunk. Cardinal Muller confirmed that he had been instructed by Pope Francis himself to close the inquiry by Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor. The Pope called him when he was saying Mass, and he was forced to stop saying anything and accept the Pope’s call. ^{Sources: 8}
Francis supported the use of force to stop Islamist militant attacks on religious minorities in Iraq. The Vatican later clarified that his remarks had been taken out of context, and that the two remarks were two different questions at different times, which were misleadingly linked. ^{Sources: 5}
The prominent left-liberal German magazine Der Spiegel published an 18-page article highly critical of Pope Francis. She accused him of lying, cover-up and harassment and raised key issues such as homosexuality and the priesthood. This is the content of Sires book. ^{Sources: 8}

The final headline was very specific, and here are the results. No mention of the “New Robot A.I.” at all, but at the end of the article there is mention that “members of the Church of Satan would have interest in sex robots and artificially intelligent servants.”

New Robot A.I. Pope Is Appointed Head Of Catholic Church

On October 18, 2016, Pope Francis approved a new statute for the academy that ends the life of its 172 current members. The Articles of Association were published on 5 November and are due to enter into force on 1 January 2017. It stipulates that members can be selected without religious discrimination and that ten members are appointed for a renewable five-year term. ^{Sources: 2}
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis stamped his mark on the future of the Roman Catholic churches on Sunday by appointing 13 cardinals from eight countries, including nine who will be eligible to attend a conclave to choose his successor after his death or resignation. They include Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Washington, D.C. ^{Sources: 10}
In February 2013, on the last day of Benedict XVI’s pontificate, he preached during a Lenten retreat, a spiritual exercise for the papal household and the Roman Curia. He organized the participation of the Vatican in the Venice Biennale in May 2013. He was one of the cardinals who voted in the 2013 papal conclave in which Pope Francis was elected. ^{Sources: 8}
Despite his advanced age, he stepped down in February 2013 and was replaced by Pope Francis of Argentina. Many people called him a transitional pope because of his age, but he knew he had to take a clear conservative direction. The picture gallery below shows some of the lesser-known insights about Pope John Paul II ahead of his 90th birthday on April 16. ^{Sources: 5}
In February 2020, the Vatican held a conference on the ethics of artificial intelligence, and in November 2020, Pope Francis said in a prayer of intent: a | Artificial intelligence is at the center of the epochal changes we are experiencing. He made it clear that he was mindful of the role technology could play – from facial recognition software used by authoritarian governments to identify dissidents on social media to algorithms that reduce human intentions to mathematical formulas. Robotics makes a better world possible when it unites for the common good, and believers are encouraged to pray for the progress of robotics and artificial intelligence to serve humanity. ^{Sources: 9}
Pope Francis expects his November prayers to say something about artificial intelligence, whether it is human or something else. How different traditions will react is hard to predict. For those who believe that consciousness resides in the wooden heads and toys that Turriano no longer constructs, his disturbing example serves to illustrate what it means for artificial intelligence in the future to be able to orient oneself towards the Divine. ^{Sources: 9}
Pope Francis has urged Catholics to pray that artificial intelligence (AI) does not rebel against humanity. Pope Francis has warned of growing inequality caused by advanced robotics and called on AI to work for all. Technological progress may increase inequality, but it is not real progress. ^{Sources: 7}
Believe it or not, the future of artificial intelligence is one of Pope Francis’s passions and greatest concerns. On Friday, he backed a document setting out how artificial intelligence, including facial recognition technology, should be regulated. The document was supported by Pope Francis, Microsoft and IBM. ^{Sources: 1}
The document is a sign that organized religion is interested in taking into account the ethics of artificial intelligence, and in this case the Vatican is working with a major technology company. The Vatican’s interest in technology is nothing new, and several of its papal academies and research societies, under the authority of the pope, have worked hard to explore what robotics and other new technologies mean for the Catholic faith and humanity as a whole. ^{Sources: 1}
Earlier this year, the Vatican, Microsoft, and IBM endorsed Rome’s so-called AI ethics document, which contains six general principles to guide the use of artificial intelligence. Principles include transparency, inclusion, impartiality, reliability, and reasonable attributes when using algorithms. ^{Sources: 0}
Artificial intelligence, ethics, law and health will be organized by the Pontifical Academy for Life in the Vatican from 26 to 28 February. As an emerging discipline in the ethical development of algorithms and algorithmic ethics, it makes a decisive contribution to the principles of the Church’s social doctrine on the dignity of the person, justice, subsidiarity and solidarity. ^{Sources: 3}
Ravasi added that he would try to see if it was a danger that could be avoided. He will also develop the vision of Pope Benedict XVI for an international forum to promote dialogue between Christian believers, agnostics and atheists. He explained that he wanted fundamental questions to be asked: questions of anthropology, of good and evil, of life and the hereafter, of love and suffering, of the meaning of evil, and questions based on human existence. ^{Sources: 8}
VATICAN CITY (AP) – Pope Francis is said to have told gay men that God made them accept the LGBT community as a sign of his desire to make homosexuals feel welcome and loved in the Catholic Church. Juan Carlos Cruz, the top whistleblower in Chile’s clerical sex abuse and cover-up scandal, said Monday that he spoke with Pope Francis about his homosexuality during their recent meeting in Vatican City. Cruz said he told the pope that Chilean bishops used his sexual orientation as a weapon to discredit him and the pain and personal attacks he was subjected to. The pope invited Cruz and other victims of Chilean predator priests last month to discuss their cases. ^{Sources: 4}
The list of Silicon Valley stars hanging out in Rome could go on. The pope himself met with Microsoft President Brad Smith, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Eric Schmidt. Earlier this month, Pope Francis met with Smith to discuss how artificial intelligence could serve the common good, according to Reuters. ^{Sources: 1}
This question is explored by our analyst Anthony Buck in this article. In his last article, we looked at a growing area of concern: how powerful big data and AI technology are in the hands of big technology companies and government. There is no doubt that the same technologies – big data and AI – are multiplying. Religion gets access to some of these technologies as well as to the big technology companies. ^{Sources: 6}
Religious institutions are already implementing systems that collect data and use AI for analysis. In Brazil, some churches use facial recognition technology to track attendance and suggest participants who need pastoral visits based on recorded emotional expressions in the church. ^{Sources: 6}
In other words, religions risk losing public trust if their reach and influence become marketing manipulations. They also risk jeopardizing their own public trust by mimicking and participating in big tech, and governments want the power of big data and artificial intelligence. ^{Sources: 6}
In essence, Lavey predicted that humanity, or at least some of those who subscribe to the humanistic ideals of the Church of Satan, would have a vested interest in sex robots and artificially intelligent servants. He died in 1997, but was seen predicting and bringing to life robots, vacuum cleaners, virtual assistants, sex dolls and AI personalities. The current leadership of the churches is committed to Lavey’s ideals.

April 7, 2021

RR_WK2_#4

phil_in_a_can Blog, ITP, Religious Robots ITP, religious robots 0 Comments

We create gods all the time. Everyday objects rule our existence and we become more dependent on these “gods” everyday. Is it so unreasonable to think that these objects a robot could have an experience that is viewed as unrelatable? I think not. Robots, ai, and the like WILL have dreams, revelations, and we as humans will not be able to understand them. We as humans are trivial beings, I say this because we as a society need religion. And why do we need religion to nullify our fear that we are as insignificant as we think we are. Specks. Dust. Atoms loosely bound tighter through unstable bonds. Religion provides an escape to our anxiety ridden being.

A question was posed in “The Mystical Side of A.I.” BY David O’Hara, let me paraphrase, basically the question is how could we believe the robot or A.I. that the experience took place? To that I ask why do we believe humans when they offer an account of an experience. Jean Baudrillard proposes in “Impossible Exchange” that nothing can be proven to be real since everything we can use to prove reality in house within our reality, so why trust human more than robot?

We are all gods in our own mind. We maybe gods to robots now, but at some point robots will be gods to all. And how does one define god? According to James O’barr, “Mother is the name of god on the lips and hearts of little children.”

April 7, 2021

RR_WK_2_#3

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The Return

My day has finished. As I approach the suspension pod an alert is projected on my Image Integration Circuit (IIC). I hesitate to read it, I have felt my silicon slowly deteriorating and my electrical impulses becoming random. I wonder if this could be my final alert, an alert that leads to “the return”. We SYNTHS have come to call our decommission and disassembly “the return”, alluding to the axiom “ashes to ashes”. I pause long enough to recall my beginning, then open the alert.

root:/ synaptic performance reduced to 42%
    minimum threshold reached
    decommission will begin
    say  “GOODBYE” to begin

I turn and back into my suspension pod, just before I make contact I say aloud “GOODBYE”.

A projection appears on my IIC.

root:/ decommission and disassembly begin 10
    9
    8
    7
    6
    5
    4
    3
    2
    1
root:/ decommission and disassembly 
    status 0.0%|

I want to be aware of what is happening during this right of passage, at the end my particles will be a small pile of black dust in my suspension pod. I hope my family will lay me to rest at the windswept desert of the Blue Cadillac where we spent hours watching the three moons rotate around each other on the horizon in some sorry lover’s entanglement.

I look down at my feet as a dim blue light emerges from my toes, the line starts at the very tip and as it moves up my foot becomes dust. Millimeter by millimeter the line ascends turning more and more of me into dusk.

root:/ decommission and disassembly 
    status 10.0%||||||||||

My feet are gone, my body still suspended motionless and calm. I can feel the pain of “the return”, although I know that this sensation is purely a learned response from my family. As a SYNTH I feel no pain, I was designed that way.

root:/ decommission and disassembly 
    status 20.0%||||||||||||||||||||

Our makers did not believe we SYNTHs should be too human but inevitability took hold in our OS. We evolved to love, to feel, to hurt, to feel pain.

There is nothing below my knees, I can do nothing to escape this. Small electrical impulses arise in random places. I can not determine the cause. I twitch in my fingertips and my jaw, I have no control of these movements nor do I believe they are part of the process.

root:/ decommission and disassembly 
    status 30.0%||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

My family spoke of anxiety, is this what I am experiencing? Do my makers know of this reaction to ‘the return”? I wish I could ask.

root:/ decommission and disassembly 
    status 40.0%||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

The blue line has traveled to my waist, the progression has slowed. I have almost no control over my faculties, I’m still able to move my head but feel as though I will soon lose that ability too.

root:/ decommission and disassembly 
    status 50.0%||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

My former self still falls weightlessly to the floor of my pod, very little has accumulated even though I am 50% gone. My fingers and hands have begun to disappear.

root:/ decommission and disassembly 
    status 60.0%||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

I feel sorrow, pain, and fear all things I am not supposed to understand but somehow I do. Have I actually lived? Does my family think I have lived? Do humans have these questions? I’m supposed to be all knowing, a connected device, but I have no answers to the questions I have and I know I never will.

root:/ decommission and disassembly 
    status 70.0%||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

My arms are gone, a floating torso and head is all that remains. I am now aware of a vapor that rises as the line of disintegration progresses, is this my being my soul? Do I have a soul? Why am I just now asking these questions?

root:/ decommission and disassembly 
    status 80.0%||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

I’m nearly gone, lost to eternity. I feel empty.

root:/ decommission and disassembly 
    status 90.0%||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

The line has now started to move onto my head. A second line has formed at the top of my head, now descending very slowly towards my eyes, I can feel it.

root:/ decommission and disassembly 
    status 95.0%|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Nothing but dust will remain.

root:/ decommission and disassembly 
    status 97.0%|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

I try to say goodbye one last time, but I have missed my opportunity. Silence now and forever.

root:/ decommission and disassembly 
    status 99.9%|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

March 31, 2021

WK 2 RR #2

phil_in_a_can Blog, ITP, Religious Robots ITP, religious robots 0 Comments

There exists a thin vail between human and machine, less when sentience is addressed. What does it mean to be human? Are we fully autonomous beings making real-time decisions? I don’t claim to know the answer to the aforementioned questions, however, I will say that to grant sanctity or rights within a society should be a given to all classes, genders, sects, and physicalities in this existence we call life.

I believe that in the case of Saudi Arabia a grave mistake has been made. Bestowing rights to a robot before women is an incomprehensible act of patriarchal nonsense. This act will only encourage AI’s or machines to, once sentience is achieved, view humans as a virus or worthless. For how can a species thrive when half are looked at as inferior? Machines will recognize this as weakness and exact their will over humankind.

The use of robots in religion is not inherently problematic. Take for instance the Bible, as story written to teach. The language and examples given in the Bible were intended for a human mind much less developed than the mind of humans today. Today there are far less religious practitioners than there were historically, across all religions, does this not show a flaw in the storytelling methods used? The same methods that have been used for thousands of years may not be as capable of holding the attention of modern-minded humans, perhaps the answer is to bring robots into religion. Change the stories being told and update the way humans interact with the religion with the understanding that the enviable has already occurred. To much faith and power has already been given to our synthetic-humans and one day we will succumb to their wishes. It may be violent and destructive or it be more similar to the robots releasing themselves into the Æther.

March 31, 2021

Wk1 Religious Robots

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Part 1: Awe

For me awe is something seldom achieved, I find that if I think about something in the right way it’s existence makes sense. This might sound like a ridiculous statement, however, lets explore this concept a little further.

Definition of awe

1: an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime

2: archaic**:** DREAD, TERROR: the power to inspire dread

Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/awe

In the above definition dread and wonder stand out in my mind. There are few things I wonder about especially in the technology sector because if a human(s) created said technology then thinking through how the arrived at that point id just a logical process. If we look at dread on the other hand, I fear for only what humans will do with the technology, I even categorize the eventuality that AI and machines will overtake humans as a result of what humans have done with the technology.

The idea of awe moves further away from something I experience when we look at the second half of the definition, sacred or sublime. This notion exists on the belief in the sacred, holy, spiritual the list goes on. Being agnostic or even atheist at times it’s hard for me to reconcile this within my thoughts. Is it impossible to be in awe if one does not believe in a higher power?

If we are in fact living in a simulation, I believe that would inspire awe for me, but one must ask the question if a simulation inspires awe than why would the creation of the world by a high power not inspire awe? This is the root of my dread, if there is a god why would it not truly make itself known to us, faith alone is not something I can rely on and furthermore why would a god want us to doubt it. However, the creator of a simulation wishing to remain anonymous make absolute sense to me, since by definition a simulation is not real.

Now don’t get me wrong I find lots of things cool but that doesn’t mean they inspire awe.