Human Values First: Artificial Intelligence and Our Spiritual Identity

By Sameer Zahr

Before Howard retires as a successful factory owner, he fires close to a hundred men from one of his factories, replacing them with robots to improve profitability. But when one of his former workers commits suicide, Howard soon finds himself mired in guilt.

After a long, hard thought, he elects not only to try to help those his actions have hurt but also to take steps toward understanding how artificial intelligence is changing the way humanity operates. He brings together a team of authorities in the field for debate and dialogue, exploring the question of how to uphold the priority of human values in the face of rapid technological achievement. As he works with them to look deeper into the subject and consider new courses of action, Howard discovers this study to be a worthwhile pursuit in his twilight years. After all, just how much does the average person know about the pros and cons of artificial intelligence and its future impact on our daily lives and moral values?

In this novel, an accomplished retired businessman gathers a group of experts in order to explore the philosophical and moral implications of artificial intelligence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: May 22, 2018
• ISBN: 9781480861862

Sameer Zahr

Sameer Zahr is the imaginative mind behind the captivating novel "Midlife Moon: From Darkness to Bright Light." With a lifelong interest in writing, Sameer has penned ten novels, all of which are available on Amazon, weaving tales that carry poignant messages of love and transformation for humanity. A seasoned international businessman, Sameer embraced his passion for storytelling after retiring, bringing a wealth of worldly experiences to his literary endeavors. Each of his ten books reflects Sameer's commitment to infusing his narratives with humanitarian and spiritual themes, offering readers stories that uplift and inspire

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Copyright © 2018 Sameer Zahr.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Archway Publishing

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4808-6185-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-6184-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-6186-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018905599

Archway Publishing rev. date: 06/20/2018

Contents

A COURAGEOUS CHALLENGE

A DREAM AND AN INSPIRATION

FORMATION OF THE THINK TANK

MOVING FORWARD

THE FIRST ENCOUNTER

UNSTOPPABLE WORK

SESSION ONE

Part One: Internet and Current AI Status

SESSION 1

The Organization Idea

SESSION TWO

Deep Learning and AGI

SESSION TWO

Impact of Computers Smarter Than Humans

AN EVENTFUL WEEK

SESSION THREE

Super-intelligent Machines and Our Spirituality

SESSION THREE

Potential Demonstrations and International Race

FRESH IDEAS

SESSION FOUR

The Documentary Movie Project

SESSION FOUR

Part Two: The Advisory Guidebook

MISSION COMPLETION

SUCCESSFUL PHASES OF ACHIEVEMENTS

CHAPTER 1

A Courageous Challenge

T he arena was huge and filled with multitudes of people shouting Howard! Howard! Don’t give up! He felt small, like David fighting the gigantic Goliath. He had no tools to fight with other than the sling in his hand. No sword and no armor with which to defend himself. But, he knew he was not afraid of the challenge ahead. He was determined to beat the mighty giant that threatened the future of his clan. All he had to do was aim right and trust in his belief in success. Then suddenly the dream shifted to a new image that caused him to jump out of his bed, screaming, What… what… where am I?

Howard, what is it? Did you just have a bad dream? his wife asked.

I don’t know exactly what happened. I was being challenged by a giant, I was thinking I would beat him and then suddenly I saw myself in the dark… and I saw the face of the man who committed suicide telling me, ‘It is alright. It is not your fault. I understand why you had to do it!

Do you remember the rest of the dream? GI asked. He had given her the nickname GI—it was an abbreviation for great inspiration.

I remember I fell asleep at my old desk in the office. The air was still and I couldn’t breathe. I woke up and called my secretary but there was no answer. I looked outside the window and saw total darkness. I got up, moved around and walked into the hallway. The fluorescent lights were flickering. I returned to my office and the door was gone. I saw a wall instead. At that moment I heard a grinding noise and then a roar, a brutal vibration…like from some kind of machine. I continued walking down the hallway hoping to see some light. I was shivering and then I saw a dim light at the end. I kept walking on and on toward the light as if I was walking towards an unknown world. And that’s when he appeared in front of my face and said what I just told you. Two bizarre dreams with a disconnect…

Come here and let me hug you, GI said. It was just a dream, and everything is alright. He told you that before you woke up. He is forgiving you. Try to accept it and move on with your life.

Thank you, sweetheart. I will try, and I will call my friend the psychoanalyst tomorrow morning for advice.

They both went back to sleep.

The next morning Howard called his friend the psychoanalyst and told him about his dreams.

Have you been having these kinds of dreams since you heard about his suicide? the psychoanalyst asked.

More or less every two weeks. Especially when I think about…the event…before I fall asleep.

What event? The suicide or the funeral you attended?

Both, Howard answered.

Okay, listen, Howard. The grinding noise is the robotic machines you replaced humans with. The long dark tunnel is your confusion and feelings of guilt. The light at the end of the tunnel represents hope that a solution can be found. That is when the victim appeared and all you should remember now is what he said at the end before you woke up. He is telling you it is okay and that he takes responsibility for what he did to himself. That’s why he said, ‘It is not your fault’. I suggest you start thinking about doing something unique, do something different than the financial help you normally give to people in need, like what you gave to this man’s family or the others who lost their jobs. All that is fine, but I am talking about something greater that will help you to focus on other positive things instead of this story that keeps haunting you.

What about the visualization I had prior to the nightmare? Howard asked. I saw myself fighting like David against Goliath believing that I would not lose. Isn’t that arrogant on my part? And totally unrelated?

No… not necessarily. The fact that you had this image as a pre-amble to your dream is a sign of confidence that you should purse a greater and more challenging task as I just said a moment ago. Be encouraged that you will achieve good results from this new task that is yet unknown. Go to your favorite spot on the mountain and contemplate what comes up next.

Thank you, Doc, for this interpretation. You are a true friend. Let me figure it out on my own now.

Howard heeded the advice of his friend, and later that day he went to his favorite meditation spot near his country home. He needed to figure out what to do next. These dreams have to go away, and the demon within has to fade, he thought. He wondered who was this giant that he was being challenged to face?

Sitting under the oak tree on top of the hill, with his hands surrounding his bent knees, Howard silently contemplated the advice of his friend, the future ahead, and wondered what to do next. The sun, with its orange and yellow colors kissing the scattered small clouds, was whispering adios, creating an awesome scene. It left a perfect image for inspiration and deep thinking.

Since Howard had retired from his very busy and successful career about a year ago, he had continued to feel guilty about firing close to a hundred men from one of his factories and replacing them with robots to improve the profitability of his business. The fairly young man who had committed suicide shortly after he had lost his job as a mechanical supervisor in the factory further exacerbated Howard’s burden. The man had been responsible for a large family and still could not find a job six months after he had been let go.

To assuage his guilt, Howard had sold that factory, and had given each of the displaced workers two-years’ severance pay, from the proceeds he received from the sale. Additionally, he created a special fund that paid the wife of the worker who had committed suicide the exact same salary the man had been paid, for as long as she was alive and not married to someone else.

But these actions were not sufficient to wipe out his guilt and stop him from having these dreams. His analyst friend was right when he said Howard needed to do something conceptually different than shoveling out money.

It must be the impact of artificial intelligence then! This must be the giant challenging me! Howard concluded after long and deep thoughts. Yes, now I understand the mess in my head. The rapidly advancing development of AI could be the cause of my confusion and interrupted sleep. Perhaps it has become my new nemesis subconsciously. Perhaps it’s why my guilty feelings are worse and stubbornly persist…

At that instant, he decided to look more deeply into the subject of artificial intelligence and figure out what he could do about it. He had never expected this could become a worthwhile subject to pursue at this stage in his life.

He felt the gentle warm breeze on his face, as the majestic sun deciding continued its journey behind the horizon, he knew he was embarking on something new and challenging.

Luckily, I now have the time and energy to pursue this challenge," he told himself. Having realized what needed to be done, he got up and started slowly walking down the trail from the top of the hill toward his car, which was parked on the narrow, winding road. He could feel the excitement of starting a new project without knowing exactly how he was going to go about it.

Nevertheless, he was thrilled to have a new interest that would satisfy his keen desire to remain physically and intellectually active now that he was entering the seventh decade of his life journey. A new mission could only enhance the good health he was blessed with. He also felt this would surely help eradicate the nightmarish dreams he had been experiencing.

While driving back home, Howard reflected on his own intense life experience, which included business travels around the world. These trips introduced him to the elite of both corporate and spiritual leaders. All along, and despite his preoccupation with his business undertakings, Howard had never forgotten his interest in spiritual understanding and his spiritual involvement during his high school and university years. The lessons he had learned had laid the foundation for his ethical approach to the business world thereafter.

Throughout his career as an international producer and trader of physical commodities, he always honored his contracts regardless of market fluctuations. This had earned him a good reputation in the industry, and his growing list of international clients had helped him in the huge growth of his own business.

He was also blessed with good looks. He was tall and well built, with brown hair, greyish piercing eyes and a smile that never left his well-defined face with its slightly pointed chin and sturdy jawline. He walked with an aura that attracted attention in every gathering, revealing his self-confident yet humble demeanor. He always walked straight, with his face held forward in a steady gaze, and had an air of authority that was palpable.

While driving back home slowly, Howard also remembered when he was approached about four years ago by an enthusiastic scientist inviting him to invest in a new computer program he had developed—one that would modify and remove genes that normally cause hereditary diseases and prohibit them from being passed to their offspring.

Despite additional explanations and more detailed business plans that were presented to him about the investment, Howard eventually decided not to invest in this new artificial intelligence software company when he had found out that such a program could be further developed to produce what was known as designer babies. He was not comfortable with the moral and spiritual ramifications that such a program could turn out to be.

Howard had become an orphan at an early age. He was looked upon with pity by his relatives and neighbors as the poor orphan. He later understood how this built within him a strong drive to succeed and show them otherwise.

With limited means to provide him with a comfortable upbringing, he had to study hard and succeeded in getting good scholarships to cover his high school as a boarding student, followed by another scholarship that covered his full tuition, room and board at a top private university. He graduated with a business degree with honors.

These were the memories that crossed his mind just before he started the winding drive up to his estate. When he walked through the door of his vast mansion with a scarf around his neck and ruffles perfectly filling the space left open by his spring coat, he was happy to see GI, his charming lady, waiting for him in the spacious semi-circular hallway.

GI was a tall, beautiful woman who was well known as a movie actress before she met Howard. She had unbelievably soft fair skin and a harmonious face highlighted by her clouded hazel-green eyes and crowned by thinly plucked and symmetrical eyebrows. Her perfectly shaped nose over her luscious full lips completed the flow of the coherent composition of her face. Her thin blonde hair hung straight down, free flowing to her shoulders. Her beauty extended from her face to her entire body— from her arms to her thin waist to her long legs.

She walked in long strides, her shoulders back and face held forward, wearing low stiletto heels and a bold knee-high, light-blue dress. Howard admired the combination of both her inner and outer beauty. He appreciated her intelligent and compassionate personality. Her life experience and intellectual demeanor attracted her to him. He often felt that GI had psychic abilities and understood why some of her friends considered her to be a medium who could see clearly into the future.

So, welcome back, I hope you enjoyed your two-hour meditation this afternoon, GI said with a warm smile.

You bet I did. I can’t wait to sit down and tell you all about it right after I take a shower, Happy Howard answered. He appreciated GI’s quiet and joyous demeanor that made it easier for him to focus on his new plans.

He quickly ran upstairs to take a shower in his elaborate bathroom. When he came back downstairs, GI handed him a cup of coffee. So tell me, dear—you seem to be so excited about something. Did you win the big lottery? she said.

Very funny! It’s more than that. Now I know what I want to do with the rest of my life, starting immediately. I want to dig deeper into the subject of artificial intelligence and to understand it better, I would like to create a panel of experts in the field; a ‘think tank. I think that will help me decide what to do next."

A think tank? Wow, is this how you foresee your retirement? It sounds great… but why?

"It was that dream…the one that woke you up. And the advice of my friend the analyst! I figure that in order for me to change my thoughts about the past, I should focus on new thoughts about the future. I want to learn more about AI and its impact on human life. To understand it well, I think I will find and engage a team of experts from the field. I am truly excited about exploring this. It’s such a new and unknown thing to me.

As you know, I’ve had ample experience in the business world and enjoyed the ups and downs in my career. It made me a better man, deeper in my moral and ethical beliefs. This spiritual part of me, which I would like to manifest in a new way, prompts me to undertake this project. I need to find out to what extent AI development may impact the spiritual identity of our being. I hope you’re with me on this. I rely on your moral support and deeper spiritual understanding."

GI’s face changed as though deep thoughts were flying around and she was seeing something strange and scary. Howard, aware of her occasional futuristic visions, became curious to find out what was swimming in her head.

He asked her what was going on, and she answered: "Howard, you know I’m with you all the way. I’m just taken aback by this news—new visions appeared in my mind about the role you could play in this. Actually, I don’t like the images I see in my head now: scenes of destruction, chaos, human suffering and fighting to survive, corruption and injustice and the like… I see a portrait of a dystopian society wondering how to avoid being fully destroyed. I also see how this can still be averted if the right action is taken beforehand. It is vague, but not hopeless!

It’s interesting that you want to dig deeper into AI and create a team of experts to guide you with its potential capabilities, including its potential threat to humans. Perhaps it is you who can heroically help ensure its safe development and avoid the kind of visions I just shared with you. Anyhow, it is very exciting to hear about your plans.

Thank you, sweetheart, Howard said. Your support and your confidence in what I am about to do mean a lot to me. This AI challenge has created a deep desire within me to understand it, as if it is an enemy that I need to know better so it doesn’t beat me first. Now I will go online and start looking for available experts or theorists in the field of AI. I’ll ask them to consider meeting with me so I can share what I have in mind.

How big a panel do you have in mind? GI asked.

I’m thinking maybe three would be enough: one in favor of AI development, one suspicious, and one neutral with spiritual values. You and I will be observers and moderators.

Then Howard added: I also would like to host the team’s debates and discussions with us here at home. Our place is big enough and it’s convenient for such a task. What do you think?

GI said, Yes. And I believe this is a major undertaking, but its timing is right. I see it as a true inspiration that will be actualized and expressed in different evolving formats that can only end up being beneficial to the human race. I admire your zest to take on such a challenging task and I pray you will have enough energy to tackle the challenges that might come with it.

Howard thanked GI and went to his comfortable study to start working on his search while his wife went about her daily chores, which included discussing the meals with the chef, house matters with the housekeeper, and walking outside to remind the gardener of certain new arrangements within the beautiful and large garden area.

Howard started reading general AI articles on the Internet to get further familiarized with the subject. He read about the advent of the Internet and its popular use in the 1980s. How the speed of information availability and the vast compilation of data by few huge corporations over the past ten years had made it more easily accessible to users since then. And also how all this had introduced a quick change in various aspects of daily human life.

Some questions came to mind as he read. How can faster communication, closer connections, and easier research, which have led to faster growth in the business realm, a wider outreach in the social scene, and a quicker success in the development of new technological ideas, be done without an infringement on the personal touch in all sorts of relationships?

He read about the advances made since the start of the twenty-first century, of faster computer programs with huge data and powerful algorithms that could outsmart the human brain. This had been seen already