As we approach 5786, we face three existential threats: climate change, global governance, and artificial intelligence. The first two, vast though they are, feel philosophically straightforward. We know what must be done; the tragedy is that humanity may not act before the damage is irreparable.
AI, however, strikes more deeply at the level of purpose. The social media algorithms of the past decade (AI 1.0) have already warped our public square, monetizing divisiveness and fuelling despair. But since OpenAI debuted its LLM in late 2022, AI has shifted from recommendation to production of language in chatbots, and now in tasks via autonomous agents. And, in this shift, the question becomes less about survival than about meaning: if machines do that — what do we do?
In 2017 I wondered, in a book review, “what aspects of humanity might transcend our physical obsolescence, because in our current economic and political situation, it’s not clear why any neutral arbiter would choose us over enlightened AI.”
In the Daniel H. Wilson book I was reviewing, the AI characters were all organized around key “Words” like “Love,” “Justice,” and “Reason.” Wilson doesn’t belabor the point, but the allegorical implication of the book is that any civilization depends upon the balance of these “Words,” or principles, whether embodied by humans or robots.
Which brings us to Elul.
In this month of reflection, Wilson’s allegory feels urgent. Humanity has already absorbed three great blows to our self-importance: Copernicus and Galileo showed we are not the centre of the cosmos; Darwin showed we are not the centre of the animal kingdom; Freud showed we are not even at the centre of our own minds. Now, AI confronts us with a fourth: we may not be at the centre of society on Earth.
And yet Elul insists: we still have agency. We can still choose what Words — what principles — anchor us. Love. Justice. Compassion. Teshuvah. This month is not about securing our dominance or mourning our lost importance, but about clarifying our purpose. Machines may outpace us, but only we can decide what it means to live with meaning.
