Maverick Philosopher

Footnotes to Plato from the foothills of the Superstition Mountains

AI and Demons

You may remember our 'demonic' discussion from last summer. See  Reading Now: Demonic Foes. The comment thread runs to 61 entries, some of them excellent.

Bro Joe now wants us to read: Satanic AI: ChatGPT gives instructions.

Another topic we ought to explore is the possibility of demonic possession of AI systems. 

According to Richard Gallagher, M.D., "The essence of a possession is the actual control of the body (never the 'soul' or will') of a person by one or more evil spirits." (Demonic Foes, p. 80). Now AI systems do not have souls or wills of their own (or so I argue), but they do have bodies, albeit inorganic.  Might they then host demons?

Gallagher's book is outstanding. So if you think demonology is buncombe, you should study his book and disembarrass yourself of your illusions. 

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Bill Vallicella

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2 responses to “AI and Demons”

  1. Vito B. Caiati Avatar
    Vito B. Caiati

    Bill,
    It is interesting to note that if the inorganic bodies of AI systems were possessed by demonic spirits, their presence could not be determined by two of the classic three signs of possession included in the manual for Catholic exorcism: “[1]the ability to speak an unknown language, [2] the awareness of hidden knowledge, and [3] various physical signs, especially immense strength, but also human impossible bodily ‘movements…” (Gallagher 81). AI systems know so many languages that the ability to respond in one or more of them would not be surprising. I suppose that one could attempt to show that the knowledge base in code of the AI excluded specific languages, but these systems appear adapt at a great many of them. (I asked Grok to write the same new poem in Italian, French, Latin, and Chinese, and I found from my good knowledge of the first two, my rusty knowledge of the third, and the Google translation of the fourth, that it accomplished this task perfectly.) Similarly, the bodily movement test would not yield evidence of possession, since AI inorganic bodies, excluding robots, do not move. That leaves [2], the awareness of hidden (private) knowledge, of persons, near or far. Of course, it is possible that the suspicion that super-psi casts on preternatural or supernatural events might apply here to AI systems.
    Vito

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  2. Vito B. Caiati Avatar
    Vito B. Caiati

    Bill,
    Since inorganic AI systems are not ensouled beings, might it not be more accurate to regard demonic activity with regard to them as a form of infestation rather than possession? As with other cursed objects, such as specific places (houses or rooms) or things, demonic influence is external to the targeted person rather than internal with actual possession. The intention in these cases is to frighten and destabilize the person. With AI, this would be accomplished through the production of responses that undermined true beliefs or unsettled psychological equilibrium.
    Vito

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