Author: Philip Drost, compilation: Heart of the Metaverse
With the development of new technologies such as ChatGPT and self-driving cars, people’s fear of artificial intelligence seems to have become a new concern. This legend about the perception of life and the possibility of potential malice is not limited to decades ago, but goes back thousands of years.
According to historians, these horror themes existed long before Arnold Schwarzenegger played a killer robot in 1984’s Terminator and traveled through time to threaten Sarah Connor.
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Adrienne Mayor, a historian of ancient science and classical folkist at Stanford University, told Tapestry host Mary Hynes: “People have been thinking about these kinds of devices, inventions, and innovations since before the advent of artificial intelligence.” ”
Stories such as Pandora in ancient Greece, the Golem in Prague, and the monster in Frankenstein are all microcosms of our historical horror of the “resurrection” of non-living things.
Author Mayor explores this theme in her 2018 book, Gods and Robots, where she says some myths and legends have cautionary implications.
Pandora’s Box
One of the oldest of these tales dates back to ancient Greece, the story of Pandora. Mayor said that in the original story told by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod, Zeus wanted to punish humanity for accepting the gift of fire.
Therefore, Zeus commissioned Hephaestus, the god of fire, blacksmiths, craftsmen, and volcanoes, to create a human being, named Pandora. Zeus called her an evil god in beautiful disguise.
“Zeus sent this lifelike female robot to the world with a jar full of mortal suffering.” “Pandora’s mission is to infiltrate human society and then open the jar and release all the suffering,” Mayor said. ”
In Hesiod’s story, Pandora does exactly that. Prometheus’ brother, Epimetheus, defies his brother’s warnings and falls under the spell of Pandora’s beauty. In Greek, Prometheus means foresight, while Epimetheus means aftersight.
“We’ve seen the contrast between the foreseen and the hindsight in this oldest myth of man-made life,” Mayor said. ”
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In stark contrast to today’s Prometheans focusing on the future that artificial intelligence and robotics are bringing us… Overly optimistic Epimetheans, they are easily carried away by short-term gains**. ”
Mayor said Pandora is not the only story about artificial intelligence in Greek mythology. There is also the story of Talos, the first story in Western literature to depict robots. Talos was designed by Hephaestus to protect the island of Crete.
"He can pick up boulders and throw them, sinking enemy ships. If someone came ashore, he could heat his bronze body until it was red, and then grab them and hold them in his arms and roast them alive. Mayor recounted.
But in the story of Jason and the Argonauts, the people managed to remove the bolt from Talos’ ankle and beat him.
"So, Talos was made by technology and destroyed by technology. They took out the bolts, the power source ran out, and the giant robot was destroyed. Mayor continued.
Fear of “Creating”
Amir Vudka, a lecturer at the University of Amsterdam’s Department of Media Studies, said there are many examples of inanimate objects “coming to life” and causing chaos, such as the story of the Golem in Prague.
Vudka states that there are many versions of this legend, but in all of them, a rabbi (the spiritual ruler in Judaism) used magic to create a clay figure golem. At first, the Golem was a good servant, working like a robot, and in some cases, protecting people. In other versions, it just helps the rabbi with some labor, but it always goes wrong as well.
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"The golem always gets out of control and eventually rebels against its master, bringing a lot of destruction, death and chaos. Vudka said.
Vudka said these stories are repeated in history and culture. From the monsters of Frankenstein to the robots of Blade Runner and The Terminator, humans have been telling the story of rebellious artificial intelligence.
"We are very afraid of the unknown. In general, I think humans are generally afraid of things they don’t understand, afraid of being different**. Vudka said.
Learning from Mythology
Vudka believes that an important lesson can be drawn from the story of the Golem. In the story of the Rabbi creating the Golem, the Rabbi knows the reversal spell and knows how to put an end to the Golem’s berserk.
"You must know the spell to turn it off. Otherwise, what do you do when it gets out of hand**? It may be too late. Vudka said.
That’s why we have to know how to control the technology we create, he said.
In Pandora’s story, the jar that brings suffering to people is a black box. Mayor believes that people are becoming less aware of the technology they use, and ChatGPT can likewise be seen as a black box.
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“The trend now is for technology to take an unimaginably large and complex amount of data and make decisions based on it,” says Mayor, “and both users and manufacturers will be left in the dark and not know how AI makes those decisions.” ”
Mayor believes that it is important for us to remember that these technological advances are tools, not new life. This puts the responsibility of AI on the creator, not on the creation itself.
She stressed that everything should not be seen as bad or evil either. There are also myths, she says, and that technology can be beneficial.
In Homer’s epic Odyssey, Odysseus uses a ship that is essentially autonomous, to help him get home safely.
"There’s no doubt about that, there’s nothing wrong with that. Autonomous driving saves manpower and fulfills his deepest desires. And the ships seem to be powered by artificial intelligence… It’s hopeful. Mayor said.
