Francesco Sisci writes an interesting article on the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), suggesting a providential link with the falling global birthrate.
He examines the population explosion in the past 150 years, current stabilizing (plateauing), & likely decline by the next century. He attributes this in part to change in health care & technology (reducing early deaths, extending life expectancy) & also an “unprecedented historical change in the quality of life.”
For all of human history, children have been a capital & a force … In the past 50 years, for the first time, children have become a burden where more children meant more expenses … Children are an expensive & risky investment for families & society.
Sisci’s bold claim is that, “Depopulation has its challenges, but there’s a solution (?). AI & robotics promise to increase productivity & assist people without a new population explosion … This perhaps should be the new dimension of our thinking.”
Having recently rewatched the Tron series, with the recent Tron: Ares, as well as Blade Runner 2049, these movies on the advance & dangers of AI do not seem that farfetched as we look above the horizon to the not-so-distant future. May God continue to grant us His wisdom how we should respond as Christians & the Church.