AI as a Faustian Bargain: Here’s How to Save Your Soul

AI is anything but a Promethean fantasy, and it comes with a heavy cost

Many of us are familiar with the timeless legend of Prometheus, the rogue titan who stole a lightning bolt from Zeus to spark the first fire, which he gifted to mortals along with the tools to birth civilization.

While this fire illuminated the path to all invention and progress, from its embers humans learned they could forge weapons, too. Consequently, they began to wage war, subjugate one another, and even challenge the gods they once esteemed.

This is an allegory we’re seeing echoed in reference to artificial intelligence, which has been likened to Prometheus and his fire. With it, humanity will be entrusted with the power to both create and destroy.

It’s poised to streamline our lives; it’ll eliminate income inequality; reach green energy goals; it’ll quell disease and toilsome labor. So long as we use it responsibly, the tech visionaries assure us, we can spark a new dawn of humanity.

But there’s a scathing flaw with this analogy.

Unlike the tale of Prometheus, this fire is not a mere “gift,” and it is by no means given freely, which undermines the applicability of this…