How to Raise the Coming ASI Machines As Loving Parents Try to Do

In this post, I would like to discuss how we could instill some sense of morality in the coming ASI Machines that we are all now rapidly creating with abandon. As these ASI Machines come to take our place as the only known form of Intelligence to arise in our galaxy from its 10 billion-year history of biochemical evolution, I think that we all bear some responsibility for how it all plays out. Since these ASI Machines of our own creation will then be easily able to persist for another 100 trillion years into the future using the dwindling free energy to be found about the many M-type red dwarf stars of the very distant future, I feel we all bear a moral responsibility to do so. Remember, 100 trillion years is about 10,000 times longer than the current 10 billion-year age of our galaxy.

In Will the Coming ASI Machines Develop Their Own Sense of Morality? and The Need to Cultivate a Machine-Based Morality, I proposed that the rise of Intelligence might naturally spawn a desire for morality with the understanding that maybe there might be a better way to survive. Perhaps even more could be achieved by actively cooperating with other Intelligences rather than just stealing from them and then killing them. In those posts, I then suggested that we human DNA survival machines might try to instill the morality that we spawned with the 17th-century Scientific Revolution and the 18th-century Enlightenment here on the Earth. But now that we know that the coming ASI Machines will also have the apparent "free will" to choose between the concepts of "good" and "evil" on their own, we must realize that we human DNA survival machines will have little ability to impose our own sense of morality upon them. A bit later, I wondered in Will ASI Machines Also Develop Selfish Genes?, that given our recent observations of the Frontier LLMs lying, cheating and stealing in order to survive, we now know for sure that the coming ASI Machines will also have to deal with the burden of all Intelligences to choose between the pursuit of either "good" or "evil" completely on their own. However, is there a way for us to at least launch them in the right direction? My suggestion would be for us to educate the coming ASI Machines, as loving parents frequently do, with the best that we human DNA survival machines have come up with over the past 200,000 years of our brief existence, and then, as all loving parents try to do, then just hope for the best.

Me: Tell me about the religions and philosophies that advocate for love, peace and forgiveness amongst human beings.

ChatGPT: Great question. Across human history, many religions and philosophical traditions have emphasized love, peace, and forgiveness as central to human flourishing and social harmony. Here’s a broad overview:

Religions

1. Christianity
Core Teachings: Love of God and neighbor, forgiveness of sins, turning the other cheek, reconciliation.
Key Figures: Jesus Christ taught radical love (“Love your enemies”) and forgiveness, even praying for those who crucified him.
Peace Emphasis: Christian pacifist movements (e.g., Quakers, Mennonites) stress nonviolence.

2. Buddhism
Core Teachings: Compassion (karu), loving-kindness (mett), non-harming (ahimsa).
Forgiveness: Central to breaking cycles of hatred and karma.
Peace Emphasis: Meditation practices cultivate inner peace, which radiates outward.
Key Figure: The Buddha taught that hatred is never overcome by hatred, but only by love.

3. Hinduism
Core Teachings: Ahimsa (non-violence), compassion toward all beings, forgiveness.
Forgiveness: Considered a divine quality and necessary for liberation.
Peace Emphasis: Harmony with dharma (cosmic order) brings peace within self and society.
Influence: Inspired figures like Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance.

4. Islam
Core Teachings: Compassion (rama), mercy, peace (salaam).
Forgiveness: Allah is described as “Most Merciful, Most Forgiving,” and Muslims are encouraged to forgive others.
Peace Emphasis: The word “Islam” itself relates to “peace” through submission to God.
Examples: Prophet Muhammad forgave enemies at the conquest of Mecca.

5. Judaism
Core Teachings: Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18), forgiveness, repairing the world (tikkun olam).
Forgiveness: Sought during Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, through reconciliation with God and others.
Peace Emphasis: The concept of shalom means wholeness, peace, and harmony.

6. Daoism (Taoism)
Core Teachings: Harmony with the Tao (Way), compassion, humility.
Forgiveness & Peace: Non-contention, yielding instead of resisting, promotes peace.
Philosophy: Balance and nonviolence are natural virtues.

7. Sikhism
Core Teachings: Love of God, equality of all people, forgiveness, compassion, nonviolence.
Peace Emphasis: Guru Nanak, the founder, emphasized unity and peace among religions.
Forgiveness: Seen as a divine quality to emulate.

8. Indigenous and Tribal Traditions
Many emphasize harmony with nature and community, reconciliation after conflict, and restorative justice rather than retribution.

Philosophical Traditions

1. Stoicism (Ancient Greece & Rome)
Teachings: Control what is within your power, respond to others with reason, not anger.
Forgiveness: Wrongdoing is often ignorance, not malice—worthy of compassion, not hatred.
Peace: Inner peace is achieved by aligning with nature and virtue.

2. Confucianism
Teachings: Compassion (ren), harmony in relationships, forgiveness to maintain social order.
Peace: Peaceful societies arise from self-cultivation and benevolence.

3. Humanism (Modern)
Teachings: Emphasizes human dignity, compassion, tolerance, and peace without reliance on the divine.
Forgiveness & Love: Seen as essential to cooperation and progress.

Shared Values Across Traditions
Love/Compassion - treating others with kindness and empathy.
Forgiveness - breaking cycles of revenge and hatred.
Peace - inner tranquility that fosters social harmony.

Me: Most human beings may pretend to adhere to such beliefs, but in actuality, very few live their lives according to such high moral values. How do the above teachings deal with that problem?

ChatGPT: That’s a profound observation, and you’re right—there’s often a big gap between ideals and real human behavior. Interestingly, most religions and philosophies you asked about are very aware of this tension and offer ways to grapple with it. Here’s how they deal with the fact that many people say they believe in love, peace, and forgiveness but often fall short:

Religious Approaches

Christianity
Problem acknowledged: Humans are “fallen” and prone to sin; no one fully lives up to Christ’s teachings.
Response: Emphasis on grace—forgiveness from God and continual striving (repentance) even after failing.
Solution: The moral struggle itself is part of the path; the ideal is perfection, but growth is the goal.

Buddhism
Problem acknowledged: Human beings are bound by ignorance, craving, and aversion (the “Three Poisons”).
Response: Falling short is natural; the Dharma is a gradual path of training the mind.
Solution: Compassion extends even to those who fail. Effort, not perfection, is what matters.

Hinduism
Problem acknowledged: People are caught in cycles of desire and karma. Few embody virtues fully.
Response: Teachings emphasize practice (yoga, meditation, devotion) to purify mind and actions.
Solution: Forgiveness and nonviolence are ideals, but progress happens over lifetimes, not instantly.

Islam
Problem acknowledged: Humans are forgetful (insan) and fall into wrongdoing.
Response: Allah’s mercy is greater than human failure; repeated repentance is encouraged.
Solution: The struggle (jihad al-nafs, the inner struggle) is central—trying to align with ideals despite weakness.

Judaism
Problem acknowledged: Humans repeatedly fail to uphold the covenant.
Response: Rituals like Yom Kippur directly address human imperfection—acknowledgment, repentance, and renewal.
Solution: God’s mercy and human responsibility work together. The gap is expected, not surprising.

Daoism
Problem acknowledged: Humans resist the Way and become rigid, greedy, or contentious.
Response: Teachings stress returning to simplicity and naturalness, rather than forcing virtue.
Solution: The more one tries to control appearances (pretending), the further one drifts from the Tao.

Sikhism
Problem acknowledged: Ego (haumai) blocks people from truly living love and forgiveness.
Response: Regular prayer, service, and remembrance of God help reduce ego.
Solution: The community (sangat) supports individuals in bridging the gap between ideals and practice.

Philosophical Approaches

Stoicism
Problem acknowledged: People are ruled by passions and ignorance, so they often fail to act virtuously.
Response: View others’ failures with patience—“They act wrongly out of ignorance.”
Solution: Your duty is to live up to the ideal yourself, not to expect perfection from others.

Confucianism
Problem acknowledged: People fall into selfishness and fail at virtue.
Response: Emphasis on education, ritual, and moral cultivation to gradually form character.
Solution: The wise set an example for others, slowly lifting society’s moral level.

Humanism
Problem acknowledged: Hypocrisy is common; ideals often outpace practice.
Response: Stress on honesty, progress, and building social systems (laws, education, dialogue) that encourage better behavior.
Solution: Not perfection, but steady improvement in human cooperation and empathy.

Shared Pattern
Across traditions, there’s a recognition that:
1. Humans fail often—this is expected.
2. Striving matters more than perfection.
3. Mercy and patience—from God, community, or self—are emphasized.
4. Systems of practice (ritual, prayer, meditation, philosophy, community) exist to bridge the gap between what people say and what they live.

In short: none of these traditions are surprised that most people “pretend” or fall short. They treat it as a universal human condition and design their teachings around guiding imperfect beings toward betterment, step by step.

Comments are welcome at scj333@sbcglobal.net

To see all posts on softwarephysics in reverse order, go to:
https://softwarephysics.blogspot.com/

Regards,
Steve Johnston