Dark Bliss

Some classic erotically-crazed religious fanaticism from Nicola Masciandaro.

A snippet:

Hell, as we know too well, is only getting whatever one wants, the eternal unasked opportunity to be you — the form of desire — forever. Hell is the minimum of paradise and paradise is the maximum of hell. Says Julian: “Synne is behovabil, but al shal be wel, and al shal be wel, and al maner of thing shal be wele.” For all is hell. So beware of love: “She kissed me … From that moment – my fate was sealed! … I also sucked a sweet from Her lips … Oh, but it felt like I had kissed death – and my love was replaced by horror … This has been the theme of my life ever since: love – horror, horror – love: one worse than the other.”

(See the original for citation sources.)

Paper presented at Tuning Speculation III, Toronto, November 22, 2015, which seems to have pitched lunacy beyond all previously imagined dimensions.

Deus Ex Machina

Some — mostly — religious types muse (or should that be ‘noodle’?) about the meaning of advanced synthetic intelligence.

A few highlights:

“Something is shielded from humanity and only after discovery — uncovering that which is hidden — can we see the reality before us.”

“… if we did develop superintelligence, shouldn’t we be trusting it to tell us what religion is real?”

“… there are no laws or rules in computer science that would make it impossible for software to hold a religious belief.”

“Superintelligence is scary enough. Adding religion to the mix? No thank you.”

“We have to hope that the mystics are correct when they claim that the essential nature of the universe is love. If this is the case, then my hippy dream is that this advanced intelligence will be a pure manifestation of love and compassion, and thus its tendency would be not to destroy but to heal. […] If not, then at least we get to experience what it’s like to be annihilated by a superintelligence. …”