This argument only really works against non-syncretic religions, and there's a whole lot of syncretic ones. It makes sense it would resonate to a British atheist though.
this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2024
739 points (94.9% liked)
Atheist Memes
5668 readers
7 users here now
About
A community for the most based memes from atheists, agnostics, antitheists, and skeptics.
Rules
-
No Pro-Religious or Anti-Atheist Content.
-
No Unrelated Content. All posts must be memes related to the topic of atheism and/or religion.
-
No bigotry.
-
Attack ideas not people.
-
Spammers and trolls will be instantly banned no exceptions.
-
No False Reporting
-
NSFW posts must be marked as such.
Resources
International Suicide Hotlines
Non Religious Organizations
Freedom From Religion Foundation
Ex-theist Communities
Other Similar Communities
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
While Hitchens is a bit of an arrogant blowhard. He's not wrong, they are all mostly wrong with Buddhists being an interesting outlier. The truth is much easier and obvious than "some guy sitting in a cloud smiting us for being what it created us to be". Think how boring that would eventually get. You want your projects to work, how frustrating would it be to be so incompetent this was all unintentional. God(the admin of this little zone) does not play dice.
How are buddhists an outlier?
I'd guess because they aren't theists, or at least not as a rule. As a religion it trends more philosophical than mystical.
It's an outlier because it isn't really a religion so much as it is a set of philosophies.
I'm guessing you haven't spent much time in countries where people leave offerings to various Buddhas and Bodhisattva in the hopes of positive interventions in love and business.
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(2 replies)
They are all wrong... only Doug Forcett got it right
I like the explanation of AI with a pencil and googly eyes. Give the pencil some googly eyes and call it Mohammed, or Carl, and talk to someone with it, using ventriloquism or something, doesn't have to be good. They will form an emotional connection to the pencil and react, some even violently, if the pencil is broken midconversation in front of them.
That is the reason why people think AI is a thing. That is also why people think a god is a thing. They are wrong in both cases.
Gods are never real in a sense of natural science, they have no body, no voice; they aren't existant. They exist as an idea, a thought people have.
Gods never work in the physical world, none of them have a will, they can only be used to steer people through the people's thoughts.
ai is a thing though?
Are you referring to LLMs, as I was? If not, please provide resources.
Yes I'm referring to LLMs, and image classification models. And image generation models. And even the code that controls the Creepers in Minecraft. AGI isn't a thing, but we've had AI for a looong time. It's just not as flashy as it often looks in Sci-Fi movies.
Okay, great. AI as you describe exist, but are still things. Not sentient beings. Never will be. My point is the only people that think that they could be, are people that humanize pencils. Or gods. Or other things.
So yes, AI exist. But not as sentient beings.
What makes humans different? If someone perfectly simulated my entire brain, would that digital brain be sentient? what even is sentience? I think it's strange to say that AI will never be sentient.
Complexity for one. A cramped foot has an influence on the brain, as does apparently the gut bacteria. Focusing on the brain is a starting point and we don't even understand that that well.
If someone perfectly simulated your entire brain, would that digital brain be sentient?
I don't know. It could be. For now I don't think so. Are you comparing that to an LLM? That would be like comparing the paths of snail slime to a comic. One could compare story lines and art styles to something that just isn't there. And never will be.
What is sentience?
Sentience is the ability to experience feelings and sensations (wiki). A word not based on a clear understanding, but rather an attempt to categorize. Nonetheless, an LLM doesn't experience anything. It uses pattern recognition and human provided categorization to try and create different stuff. All in the confines of the recognitions.
I think it's strange to say that AI will never be sentient.
It's why it's important to distinguish between "AI" and "LLM". AI, as an AGI, is something we might be able to build one day. LLMs might be a step on the way to this. But not the way they are now.
load more comments
(4 replies)
Yeah I love this Train of thought because it's an interesting thing to consider.
load more comments
(4 replies)
Or god is an asshole. He knows the correct way to reach heaven and only told one person.
Consistent with the notion that man was made in the image of God based on my experience with humanity.
load more comments
(1 replies)