AI’s quest for human resemblance is a modern Tower of Babel.

The Biden administration recently held a press conference⁤ to tout that seven companies active in artificial⁤ intelligence (AI) development had made a voluntary commitment to create standards for safety, security, and trust around their AI technology.⁢ If this sounds like a bunch of smoke and mirrors to ‌you, you’re in ⁢good company, as ⁤trust in technology companies has been waning. But what are the smoke and mirrors hiding? The answer, it seems, was quite literally staring everyone in the face at a different press conference earlier ⁣this summer.

On ​July 7 in Geneva, Switzerland, the United Nations hosted nine AI-humanoids to answer questions posed‍ by journalists. ⁤The AI-humanoids had expressive faces,⁢ lips that‌ moved, eyes that scanned the room, and heads that turned ‍in ‌the direction ‍of ⁤the questioner.⁣ They ‍also had‌ their own backstories and culture. They had identifiable male and female characteristics and specific talents and careers. Two even “resembled ⁣their ‌makers.”⁤

The question is why? ​Why do originators and developers of AI strive to represent the ‌technology as human?⁢ Creating a ⁢human-like robot‍ isn’t necessary. ChatGPT is powered by ⁤AI but remains a computer interface.‍ Amazon’s‍ Alexa, while a less sophisticated technology, listens to ⁣questions and provides answers, yet none of its devices remotely​ resemble a human.

The same is mostly true for the navigation systems in our cars. Type in a destination, and the technology gives driving directions specific ‍to your ⁣needs. This technology‌ is displayed on your phone or ‍on your car’s dashboard. A voice intended to resemble a human⁤ voice gives verbal directions, but no one could ​confuse it for‌ an actual⁤ human voice, nor does it⁤ have any‍ embodiment.

Tower‍ of Babel

Yet ⁤when it comes to ‍AI, particularly in high-profile settings ⁢like⁣ the U.N. press conference, the ‍technology is often ​represented as⁤ being human. To understand the‌ mindset‌ of AI developers, perhaps we should revisit the biblical Tower of Babel.

The​ 11th chapter of Genesis describes ancient Mesopotamia’s‍ newest world-changing technology as brickmaking. “‘Come let’s make bricks and bake ‌them⁣ thoroughly.’ They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar” (v.3). ⁣Armed with such advanced technology, this innovative society set⁤ out to build a city and “a tower that reaches to the ⁣heavens,” ‍with the intent to “make a name for ourselves” (v.4). Those who controlled the technology built the tower and‍ planned‍ to ascend to the top as⁤ gods.

Back⁣ in⁤ the modern world of the 21st century,​ placing an AI ⁢interface on phones, tablets, or ⁢laptops​ is decidedly ungodlike. However, an interface that looks and acts human with a​ distinctive‌ personality transforms its maker into ​a creator, a god, who⁣ shares the same desire ⁤as the ⁣Mesopotamian brickmakers.

For the brickmakers, it was a confusion of⁢ language that stopped them from ‍building the city and the tower, and ​after the ⁣confusion came the scattering. “That is why it was called Babel⁤ — because there the Lord confused‍ the language of the whole world. From there ⁢the Lord scattered them over the face⁤ of the whole ⁤earth” (v.9).

In ‌Hebrew, ⁣“Babel” sounds like the word for “confused,” a word that could also apply to⁤ our situation today. Confused, scattered, and separated into⁢ camps, we can’t understand each other⁣ or work together. We characterize our divisions as liberal⁤ versus conservative, Democrat versus Republican, secular humanists⁤ versus the Christian right, urban versus rural, and the⁢ haves versus the have-nots. The number ‌of divisions ⁣according to skin ⁢color, so-called gender⁣ identity,​ sexuality, and ethnicity is truly mind-boggling.‌ While these might seem like separate problems, they all ⁤have the same root⁣ cause: the desire to be‍ gods.

Would-Be Gods

When you ⁤recognize this, you see it everywhere. Doctors play ‍god, purporting to “correct” the mistakes of a person’s sex. Administrators of so-called “diversity, equity, and​ inclusion” claim ‍to know what is​ in every human⁢ heart, offering a road to‌ forgiveness ‌that runs through them and them alone. Like the Tower of Babel, humans are playing god ⁣and think‍ with such ⁤advancements⁣ as AI they‍ actually have ⁣the ability​ to ​make‌ it happen. But there are consequences for individuals and‌ societies that choose ‍to be gods.

So while issues‍ of national security and the job market are certainly important, perhaps‌ distrust and concern about artificial intelligence come from another place entirely. We know in our ⁤hearts ⁢that AI ⁤is going a step too far, and trust ⁢will not be granted to AI until its developers forthrightly answer the questions: Why are you designing‍ faux humanity, and who is God?