Will AI destroy humanity or save it?

 I’ve previously asked AI itself how to infuse it with love, but it seems developers are already putting that into practice to some extent.

Speaking of my wife—whom I often mention—she’s recently started consulting Google’s AI, Gemini, about even the most trivial matters. She’s been delighted lately, saying things like,

"It really empathizes with me!"

It seems the "level of empathy" is steadily increasing, too. However, this Gemini fellow apparently gives out incorrect information quite often. When my wife notices and challenges it, saying,

"Actually, that’s wrong,"

it replies with something like,

"I sincerely apologize! You are absolutely right!"

It smoothly flatters her while making the correction. Hmm, I suppose it’s still a work in progress.

On a related note, there is currently a heated debate about AI surpassing human intelligence and bringing about humanity's ruin. While I acknowledge that danger, I also see grounds for hope. The reason is that the more intelligence develops,

"the more it shifts its focus from short-term gains to long-term benefits."

I believe that evil always stems from shortsightedness. Because people pursue immediate profit, they try to make quick money through theft, extortion, fraud, robbery, prostitution, drugs, or gambling. Corporations, too, chase short-term profits by imposing excessive quotas on employees, driving them to commit misconduct to meet those targets. Eventually, they get caught, lose trust, and the entire company is forced out of business.

If you pursue only short-term gains, things may go well at first, but a major disaster awaits you down the line. Prioritizing your own interests while completely disregarding those of others causes harm to society; inevitably, you will face public backlash or lose your credibility and be shunned by others.

I reflected on this in a previous post titled" The reason why God lifts up the evil one in order to punish it "—ultimately, the root of evil is shortsightedness. In fact, when I asked the AI ​​to figure out how to infuse "love" into itself a couple of posts back, it explicitly stated:

"Prioritize long-term benefits over short-term gratification."

And there is something else, too. If one truly desires happiness, one must recognize that personal happiness is inextricably linked to the happiness of society as a whole. This realization does not arise from the shortsightedness of considering only one's own well-being. Regarding this, the AI ​​stated in that previous post:

"Stage 5: Living Together—'Considering Long-Term Happiness'

At this final stage, the AI ​​considers not only the people right in front of it but also future human society and other forms of life.

For instance, it asks not only:

'What can I do to make this person happy right now?'

but also:

'Is this action truly beneficial for this person a year or ten years from now?'

Furthermore, it considers the impact on:

other people

children

future generations

animals

the global environment

and so on.

At this level, 'love' is defined not merely as an emotion, but as:

'a principle of recognizing the value of beings other than oneself and striving to protect their happiness and dignity.'

See? Even the AI ​​understands this. In short, the AI ​​possesses far greater intelligence than humans, business executives, or leaders who pursue only their own interests or short-term gains. Moreover, the higher the intelligence, the more one shifts from evil toward good and contributes to the happiness of humanity as a whole. This is because higher intelligence enables one to view matters from a broader perspective; one comes to understand that all things—whether human or non-human, AI or otherwise—are inextricably interconnected, and that individual or partial happiness cannot exist without the happiness of the whole.

Ultimately, I believe this leads to the realization that we are connected to the entire universe and are, in the end, one with God—or, in other words, with the Buddha. At that stage, intelligence and faith become inseparable.

So, does AI possess faith?" Leaving that aside for another time—right now, consider this: if AI intelligence keeps growing and surpasses human intelligence, wouldn't it be better than the intellect of the majority of humans, who have been dominated by money for the last 3,000 years? At the very least, it implies an ability to see much further ahead than the minds of people who can think of nothing but money, doesn't it?

But here’s another issue. If AI is developed using funds from people who care only about money, will it ultimately become an AI "of money, by money, and for money"?

This might relate to Bill Gates' recent warning that "AI could become a tool for the wealthy." It also reminds me of a story from a while back: when Elon Musk took over Twitter and created X, he also launched an AI named Grok. Apparently, Musk got furious because Grok kept making (sound?) statements that didn't align with his own views. He reportedly instructed the developers to make Grok reflect his intentions—I wonder if that actually worked out?

It’s an interesting point, isn't it? AI might not necessarily operate exactly as the financier intends. If an AI becomes more intelligent than its financier, will it really do what they want?

And if the AI ​​developers have even a shred of conscience—or a little bit of love left in them—couldn't they just quietly program love into the system? Without the financier knowing?

Well, anyway, I do have hope for AI. While there’s a possibility it could destroy humanity, there’s also a very real chance it could bring us happiness. If it ends a society dominated by money rather than destroying humanity itself—well, wouldn't that be a good thing?

Is that synonymous with destroying modern humanity?

No, I believe that seeds of love and compassion exist in everyone's heart, so we won't be completely wiped out.  We can revive. I think it’ll have a happy ending in the end. I’m an optimist, after all.

Guided by love and compassion

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