DistantNews
Support us
🇮🇱 Israel /Technology

What ancient Jewish wisdom can teach us about the age of AI - opinion

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Opinion Sources not specified Context piece
  • The article explores how ancient Jewish wisdom can offer guidance for navigating the challenges posed by artificial intelligence.
  • It draws parallels between AI's potential to create abundance and ancient dilemmas regarding resource distribution and the purpose of human endeavor.
  • The author suggests that learning, pursued as an end in itself, is a key human vocation that AI challenges but also highlights.

Artificial intelligence revives ancient questions about humanity's role when faced with entities superior in capability, prompting a re-examination of human purpose, abundance, and knowledge. The article posits that ancient Jewish wisdom offers valuable perspectives on these modern predicaments.

goods will flow in abundance, and all the delights will be freely available as dust,” where “little effort will yield great results,” and there would be “no famine, war, jealousy, or competition.

· MaimonidesDescribing a predicted future of abundance, referenced in the context of AI's potential.

AI's promise of unprecedented abundance echoes historical dilemmas concerning resource distribution and the ultimate purpose of human activity. Ancient texts, such as Maimonides' predictions of a future with effortless abundance and Thomas More's concept of Utopia, envisioned widespread sharing. However, the article cautions that without deliberate design, AI's benefits might accrue only to technology owners, necessitating economic structures for universal distribution.

a great abundance of all things,” so broadly shared that “no man can want or be obliged to beg.

· Thomas MoreEnvisioning abundance in Utopia, contrasted with potential AI-driven inequality.

Furthermore, ancient traditions like the ideal of "Torah lishmah" (study for its own sake) and the Greek concept of "schole" (leisure for study) highlight learning as a primary human vocation, distinct from mere production. While AI can serve as a powerful teaching tool, it also undermines traditional incentives for learning, particularly when education is primarily viewed as a path to employment. The ease of accessing information through AI also risks creating a superficial "show of wisdom without the reality," as Plato warned.

leave people able to “appear to know much while for the most part they know nothing,” with “the show of wisdom without the reality.

· PlatoWarning about the dangers of writing, applied to the potential superficiality of AI-generated knowledge.

The author argues that AI sharpens the danger of intellectual atrophy if humans delegate thinking, writing, and decision-making. Recovering learning as an end in itself is presented as a crucial response. The article concludes by referencing Maimonides' simple endpoint for study: "not for money, not for honor, but because knowledge is worth pursuing."

not for money, not for honor, but because knowledge is worth pu

· MaimonidesDefining the ultimate purpose of study, presented as a response to AI's impact on learning.
About this summary

Originally published by Jerusalem Post. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog