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Google engineer sets up new church ‘to worship artificial intelligence’

Robot Rex
Robot Rex

Futurists often like to predict that artificial intelligence will one day be so powerful, it will be beyond human comprehension – and almost God-like.

But one Google researcher is going a bit further – and has launched what appears to be a church devoted to creating, then worshipping, an artificial intelligence God.

Anthony Levandowski, an engineer involved in self-driving cars, has founded a religious non-profit called ‘Way of the Future,’ according to documents uncovered by Wired.

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The group’s mission is, ‘To develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on artificial intelligence and through understanding and worship of the Godhead contribute to the betterment of society.’

AI is this engineer’s religion. But it’s his all-too-human behavior that sits at the heart of Waymo’s lawsuit against Uber.
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It’s not clear how serious the project, registered in 2015, is, and Way of the Future have not responded to requests for information.

Could machines really ‘evolve themselves’ into God-like super-brains? Stephen Hawking believes so.

In a speech earlier this year Hawking said, ‘Creating AI could be the biggest event in the history of our civilisation. But it could also be the last unless we learn how to avoid the risks.

Professor Hawking said that artificial intelligence could lead to powerful weapons that think for themselves – similar to the robotic assassin in The Terminator.

Professor Hawking said, ‘Alongside the benefits, AI will also bring dangers, like powerful autonomous weapons, or new ways for the few to oppress the many.

‘It will bring great disruption to our economy. And in the future, AI could develop a will of its own – a will that is in conflict with ours.

‘In short, the rise of powerful AI will be either the best, or the worst thing, ever to happen to humanity. We do not know which.’