“The Endgame of Edgelord Eschatology”

TruthDig- Thought provoking read

First few paragraphs included below, read entirely at TruthDig Link

Much of human history only makes sense in light of the persistent influence of eschatology — a word of Greek origin that means “the study of last things.” This is because many of the most significant historical movements and events have been driven, in one way or another, by eschatological beliefs. The Second World War was motivated in part by Hitler’s promise of a “thousand-year Reich,” an idea that mirrored Christianity’s prophecy of a future “Millennial Kingdom” following the Battle of Armageddon. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that roughly 4 in 10 American adults believe that we are “living in the end times,” while another reports that 41% of Americans expect that Jesus will either “definitely” or “probably” return by 2050. These eschatological convictions have had a significant impact on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, since our current world, in this narrative, cannot end without a Jewish state in Palestine. Some scholars have dubbed this demographic the “Armageddon Lobby.”

Recent years have seen the emergence of a second and arguably more powerful “Armageddon Lobby.” It resides in epicenters of power like Silicon Valley and embraces a “secular” vision of humanity’s grand future — though it shares many similarities with traditional religion, including a belief in “God” and the promise of immortality through cryonics. The renowned media theorist Douglas Rushkoff calls this vision “The Mindset,” whereas the computer scientist Timnit Gebru and I refer to it as “TESCREALism,” which I have discussed in previous articles for Truthdig. I will mostly stick with Rushkoff’s term in what follows.

Advocates of The Mindset claim that the world as we know it will soon expire. In its ashes, a new era dominated by digital lifeforms — that is, artificial intelligences — will emerge. These beings will stand to us as “gods,” though by merging our brains with AI or “uploading” our minds to computers, we may become gods ourselves: Homo deus — the “human god” — as Yuval Noah Harari puts it. “The most devout holders of The Mindset,” Rushkoff writes in reference to Mark Zuckerberg’s failed “metaverse” project,

seek to go meta on themselves, convert into digital form, and migrate to that realm as robots, artificial intelligences, or mind clones. Once they’re there, living in the digital map rather than the physical territory, they will insulate themselves from what they don’t like through simple omission. … As always, the narrative ends in some form of escape for those rich, smart, or singularly determined enough to take the leap. Mere mortals need not apply.