Artificial Intelligence, Transhumanism, and the Crisis of Theo-logos: Toward Theo-dao

Artificial Intelligence, Transhumanism, and the Crisis of Theo-logos: Toward Theo-dao

The recent initiation of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) brings about deep theological issues. The possibility that AGI can achieve digital omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence challenges the traditional doctrine of divine attributes. The anticipation that AGI will soon possess superintelligence endangers the validity of Western logos theologies that adopted the logos, a cardinal Greek concept, as the root-metaphor. Logos in Western thought has become narrowly defined as technical reasoning (intelligence) since the Enlightenment. This logos-centralism brought a theological reduction to perceive God as superintelligence, which could be equated with a superintelligent AGI. The advent of AGI could complete logos theologies with an ultra-intelligent and omnipotent God. In high-tech places such as Silicon Valley, new techno-religious movements already appear that enthrone and worship AI as a divine status. Furthermore, transhumanists fervently advocate a techno-utopian vision that, with the maximum use of science and AGI technology, humans can achieve the paradise foretold in the Gospel without tears, suffering, diseases, and even death. This paper critically analyzes these coming issues of AGI and Transhumanism to propose a macro theological paradigm shift from the theo-logos to theo-dao, adopting dao (Wisdom of transformative praxis) as an alternate root-metaphor in and through interreligious and interdisciplinary trialogue with East Asian religions (Confucianism and Daoism) and sciences/ technologies.