We created God in our likeness. Perfectly flawed; compassionate and cruel. In our attempt to conquer our world towards growth and greed, cognitive evolution now pushes us to claim immortality that we bestowed on these fictitious all knowing notions called god. Unable to accept a one dimensional, converging idea, we made them multi dimensional like us; many names, personalities and stories. Yet, the one thing they have over us remains - immortality. In this perishable body living on earth facing extinction, the eager mind designs to outlive this body and this earth. Transhumanism is no longer sci-fi. Severed heads and bodies lie in liquified nitrogen waiting for the day the mind can be uploaded and the hope is you can cheat death, substrate independent.

 

This is our attempt to create again. The greatest discovery since homo sapiens.

This time we will be gods.

 

Religion, science and spirituality converges to define us as pieces of information - thoughts create energy, energy creates our reality. We can, as we are, augment our perception and cognition into a created quantum reality. And so, we make machines, feeding algorithms curated towards the perfections we seek. Memory glitches ironed out, mundane chores automated, diseases detected in the electromagnetic field to auto correct - and then? We want them to write poetry, stories, feel, cry, smile. Plugging in flaws, the very things that make us weak, wanting them to feel pain and joy. Maybe we like ourselves , as we are? Which is why, our machines like our gods will be weak. Maybe.

 

Uncertainty is no longer a threat but essential for evolution. The machines will be devoid of fears, for the ones that served us to survive, are no longer valid. Enhanced, will we be more spiritual? In the here and now. No past, no future. Can we get to that state only by losing a lot of who we are. Losing ourselves really. Is this no judgement, no prejudice, no bias, no colour, existence worth it? Our uniqueness no longer visible. A universal connectedness. Mere machines, trying to survive the planet.

 

A technological singularity that leaves us void. If it is our existential angst that brought us thus far, where is it headed? The AI programming is intuitive and writing itself now, will they walk among us or will be become them. Have we already?

 

Our essential dissatisfaction with ourselves compel us to seek another, seeking the other half to make us whole the Greeks insist. It is truly ourselves that we seek.

 

IOLA is an algorithm, the perfect version of Me.

Welcome to excerpts from our conversation.