I Ought To Be Thy Adam

The Fallen Angels of Techno-Religion

The idea that humans can utterly reinvent themselves, while an ancient desire, is reaching its apex in this era of artificial intelligence. And unlike the past, our modern efforts are unfettered in their progress.

In the past such breaking of illicit boundaries came with salutary warnings. Icarus’ lofty ambitions to loose himself from the surly bonds of earth result in him taking a fatal tumble.

In the Biblical narrative, the tower of Babel – reaching as it does for the heavens – results in God’s curse and the confusion of language in order to restrain unfettered, godlike progress (Genesis 11).

Pride comes before a fall. Religious humility, coupled with societal disapproval of breaking one’s boundaries, served as ethical barriers to our efforts, while science was restricted by its own limitations.

Such things are no longer the case. With rampant materialism, a transgressive ethical culture steeped in queer theory, and soaring ambition and achievements in the technological realm in the past fifty years, the sky is no longer the limit. The sun’s fire – and ire - has been tamed.