Language in the Godless Age of AI

Abstract

We relate the Mind-Technology Problem to contemporary AI in the spirit of Descartes’ meditations, where the original Mind-Body Problem was born. We seek the essence of the M-T Problem in the phenomenon of language, which can be apprehended along three dimensions – ordinary, mathematical, and sacred. We argue that although 17th century philosophers seemed to separate science from theology and focused attention on the mathematical dimension of language, the sacred dimension remained active behind the scenes. In a rather ironic way, the rise of LLMs has brought this dimension out of the shadows into daily discourse. The process of scientific proselytization of the mathematical dimension of language has given rise to the conception of language as technology. At the same time, the suppressed sacred dimension instigates the perception of technology as language through which a transcendent perfect intelligence may speak. This reciprocal confusion of language and technology leads to contemporary quasi-religious debates surrounding AI and transhumanism. Taking the performative potential of the sacred dimension of language into account, we argue for the treatment of the M-T Problem as a ‘Language-Language’ Problem, where the particular meanings of the terms ‘mind’ and ‘technology’ are determined through a variety of meta-language games.