AI’s Big Rift is Like a Religious Schism

TWO CENTURIES ago Henri de Saint-Simon, a French utopian, proposed a new religion, worshipping the godlike force of progress, with Isaac Newton as its chief saint. He believed that humanity’s sole uniting interest, “the progress of the sciences”, should be directed by the “elect of humanity”, a 21-member “Council of Newton”. Friedrich Hayek, a 20th-century economist, later gleefully described how this ludicrous “religion of the engineers” collapsed into a welter of feuding sects.

Henry Farrell, “AI’s Big Rift is Like a Religious Schism,” The Economist, December 12, 2023.

Access the full article here.

Other Writing:

Essay

Can the European Union Be Saved? with John Quiggin

Europe is on the brink of disaster—again. The possibility of a Greek default sent the markets roiling on Tuesday. And despite more than $2 trillion doled out to troubled nations such as Greece and Portugal, Europe’s leaders are once again meeting behind closed doors, trying to find a way to stanch the bleeding. It won’t ...
Read Article
Essay

Tom Coburn Doesn’t Like Political Science

Sen. Tom Coburn doesn’t like political science. Since 2009 the Oklahoma senator has been trying to ban National Science Foundation funds for political-science research. His new Senate colleague, Jeff Flake of Arizona, has an M.A. in political science, but doesn’t like it either. Flake tried to block NSF funds when he was in the House ...
Read Article