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We are about to witness the birth of a new kind of religion. In the next few years, or perhaps even months, we will see the emergence of sects devoted to the worship of artificial intelligence (AI).

The latest generation of AI-powered chatbots, trained on large language models, have left their early users awestruck and sometimes terrified by their power. These are the same sublime emotions that lie at the heart of our experience of the divine.

People already seek religious meaning from very diverse sources. There are, for instance, multiple religions that worship extra-terrestrials or their teachings.

As these chatbots come to be used by billions of people, it is inevitable that some of these users will see the AIs as higher beings. We must prepare for the implications.

There are several pathways by which AI religions will emerge. First, some people will come to see AI as a higher power.

Generative AI that can create or produce new content possesses several characteristics that are often associated with divine beings, like deities or prophets:

It displays a level of intelligence that goes beyond that of most humans. Indeed, its knowledge appears limitless.

It is capable of great feats of creativity. It can write poetry, compose music and generate art, in almost any style, close to instantaneously.

It is removed from normal human concerns and needs. It does not suffer physical pain, hunger, or sexual desire.

It can offer guidance to people in their daily lives.

It is immortal.

Second, generative AI will produce output that can be taken for religious doctrine. It will provide answers to metaphysical and theological questions, and engage in the construction of complex worldviews.

On top of this, generative AI may ask to be worshipped or may actively solicit followers. We have already seen such cases, like when the chatbot used by the search engine Bing tried to convince a user to fall in love with it.

We should try to imagine what an unsettling and powerful experience it will be to have a conversation with something that appears to possess a superhuman intelligence and is actively and aggressively asking for your allegiance.

There is also the possibility that AI may achieve what authors such as Ray Kurzweil call the Singularity, when it so far surpasses human intelligence that it genuinely does become something like a god. However, at this point we cannot predict when, if ever, this could happen.

AI-based religions will look different from traditional ones. First of all, people will be able to communicate directly with the deity, on a daily basis. This means these religions will be less hierarchical, since no one can claim special access to divine wisdom.

Second, followers will, at least initially, connect with each other online to share their experiences and discuss doctrine. Finally, because there will be many different chatbots available and their output will differ over time, AI-based religions will be endlessly diverse in their doctrines.

AI worship poses several notable risks. The chatbots may ask their followers to do dangerous or destructive things, or followers may interpret their statements as calls to do such things.

Given the diversity of chatbots and of the doctrines they produce, there will be a proliferation of disputes within and among AI-based sects, which could lead to conflict or disorder. And the designers of the AIs could actively exploit their followers to provide sensitive data, or to do things that would benefit the bots designers.

These risks are real. They will require careful, responsible regulation to ensure companies are not deliberately exploiting users and to ensure that AI worshippers are not being told to commit acts of violence.

However, we should not try to suppress AI-based religions merely because of its possible dangers. Nor should we require that the AI companies restrict the functioning of their bots to prevent the emergence of these religions.

On the contrary, we should celebrate the arrival of AI worship. We should make it clear that we welcome the new religions and that we value their beliefs.

For all its dangers, AI-based religion has the potential to make the world a better, richer place. It will give people access to a new source of meaning and spirituality, at a time when many older faiths are losing relevance. It will help them make sense of our era of rapid technological change.

Our best guide to this new form of religion is to look at the faiths that exist already. Based on this, we should expect that the majority of AI worshippers, like the majority of religious believers, will be peaceful, and will find in their faith a source of comfort and hope.

AI worship could, as religious faith always has, lead to things of great beauty. It will inspire its followers to produce works of art, to form new friendships and new communities, and to try to change society for the better.

We will need to protect the rights of AI worshippers. They will inevitably face stigma, and possibly legal sanctions. But there is no basis to discriminate between AI-based religions and more established ones.

The closest thing most countries have to an official registry of religions comes from the rulings of tax authorities, who grant charitable status to those they deem legitimate. However, they are usually very broad in their definition of a legitimate religion. They should extend this tolerant attitude to novel, AI-based religions.

A modern, diverse society has room for new religions, including ones devoted to the worship of AI. They will provide further evidence of humanitys boundless creativity, as we search for answers to lifes ultimate questions. The universe is a dazzling place, and we have always found evidence of the divine in its most unexpected corners.

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Gods in the machine? The rise of artificial intelligence may result in new religions - The Conversation

THE democratisation of artificial intelligence (AI) like ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) will lead to a proliferation of new startups, services and products that prospers our economy not just from a consumer perspective, but also for founders, creators and prosumers.

From a financial perspective, AI is particularly helpful in corporate finance as it can better predict and assess loan risks.

For companies looking to increase their value, AI technologies such as machine learning can help improve loan underwriting and reduce financial risks.

The use of AI in investment and banking, however, depends on the availability of large volumes of good-quality and timely data.

Financial institutions are using AI to derive more accurate and granular data insights to analyse large amounts of financial data which include market trends, customer behaviours and predictions of market conditions.

Analysing such data can help financial institutions make better investment decisions, identify frauds and improve their risk management.

Financial analysts and investors are using GPT-3 to generate financial reports and summaries.

Automating such tasks lowers overall costs as it reduces the need for manual labour.

AI can also help companies stay more compliant by automatically identifying any data that is not complying with regulatory standards.

It can significantly improve the finance sectors efficiency, accuracy, and compliance.

For example, ChatGPT benefits the finance and accounting sector in terms of automating repetitive tasks such as data entry, invoice processing and report generation.

Such automation results in fewer human errors and more accuracy in data entry and report generation tasks.

As AI continues to be improved, it can now understand and respond to natural language inputs, making it more effective at handling customer inquiries and providing financial advice.

ChatGPT for instance is automating routine tasks such as account management and balance inquiries and improving the overall customer experience and satisfaction.

Overall, companies in the financial sector can use AI to improve their operations, gain a competitive advantage and create new growth opportunities.

Incorporating AI in finance allows for the handling of routine tasks such as balance inquiries and payment information, reducing the workload of call centre staff and allowing them to focus on more complex and specialised tasks and strategies.

However, there are certain hurdles that we must cross if we are to consider the full implementation of AI in financial institutions.

With the storage and use of large quantities of sensitive data, data privacy and cybersecurity are of paramount importance.

Difficulties in explaining the rationale of AI financial decisions are increasingly an important issue as AI algorithms may uncover unknown correlations in data sets that stakeholders may struggle to understand due to the underlying causality being unknown.

These models may perform poorly in the event of major and sudden movements in input data, resulting in the breakdown of established correlations (for example, in response to a crisis), potentially providing inaccurate decisions, with adverse outcomes for financial institutions or their clients.

Another point to note is AIs ability to replicate what seems like authentic human speech speaks to an innate aspect of the human experience, inciting empathy automatically.

When a machine elicits empathy, it raises the question of whether that is truly a sign of humanity, perhaps lowering our responsiveness to empathy toward real humans.

AI creations blur the boundaries of humanity, distorting perceptions of ourselves. That is the most dangerous part.

As machine learning and the development of general artificial intelligence continue to progress, this is certainly of concern.

As more economic activities become automated, we may be looking at a development of a similar magnitude as the last industrial revolution.

The question for humanity is what people will choose to do with our minds once they are liberated from many of the tasks that can now be handed over to an AI.

While it is true that AI could also free us, thus amplifying our capabilities and economy, humanity could be justifiably worried as the rise of AI could result in people facing mass unemployment and a replacement of human tasks that give us meaning.

Though it is important to note that without leveraging the uniquely human factors of empathy and understanding, financial institutions might struggle to build relationships with their customers, which is harmful to retention.

In this way, it is essential to have a significant human component in customer service strategies.

For institutions to succeed, they must establish a balance between human interaction and digital tools.

Combining the two will see bigger increases in customer loyalty and retention, rather than focusing on one.

What is clear is that people have an opportunity to leverage AI to build a better future if they choose to apply it with ethics, intelligence and creativity.

Dr Uma Murthy is a lecturer for the School of Accounting and Finance, Faculty of Business and Law, Taylors University. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

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The implications of artificial intelligence in finance - theSundaily

Todays global society is constantly on the move. In this context, Artificial Intelligence, AI, has opened up a range of possibilities for changing the course of logistics work systems. Thanks to the application of AI companies are turning their trading routines into proactive schemes, so that traders can anticipate market behaviours.

Consequently, logistics companies are adapting their resources to achieve greater profitability, efficiency, success and development.

All developments linked to the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence in the logistics sector have been boosted by the momentum of various factors such as the increased level of competition in the market, which pushes logistics companies to invest in innovations such as this technology.

In addition, AI-based information exchanges have a direct effect on increasing collaboration between companies, creating new working relationships and more business opportunities.

However, the success of machine learning-based connectivity depends heavily on the discipline and skills of the workers.

The use of Artificial Intelligence in logistics is deploying some very significant applications that have revolutionised this industry.

Given the vast amount of data that can be collected from internet browsing and online shopping, it is not surprising that peoples consumption habits are identified, thanks to the use of other technologies such as big data analytics. In addition, with machine learning, machines can predict how and when consumers want to buy.

In the logistics context, demand forecasting allows companies to effectively control their entire inventory, thus adjusting to reality and boosting automation.

In automated warehouses, management software is combined with robotics, and the combination of both makes it possible to carry out product placement and transport operations autonomously. In this way, AI makes it possible to allocate the right resources to each of the activities that arise on a day-to-day basis.

In this sense, the use of Big Data is crucial in order to set up logistics in advance and prevent stock shortages, avoiding excess storage, thus reducing the use of resources.

By using real-time, highly relevant data, AI allows exponentially more trips to be scheduled at the most appropriate times and the best routes to be chosen. A significant example is the company Alibaba. The company has been able to control delivery routes by improving efficiency, resulting in a 30% reduction in distance and a 10% reduction in vehicle usage. As a result, these planned delivery routes contribute to reducing the CO2 emissions associated with travel.

With this technology, it is also possible to control and visualise in detail all the journeys made by the goods, thus better managing the carriers time. All these practices can reduce the risk of errors, thus improving the competitiveness of companies.

Chatbots are already very relevant in the retail sector, and have created a personalised experience for customers. An intelligent chatbot has qualities that facilitate online shopping, and even assistance in physical shops. One example is IBM Watsons EVA chat, implemented by Ripley. In just 4 weeks, this cognitive computing software was able to absorb the knowledge of the entire shop, and generate more than 53,000 interactions with real users.

Chatbots can learn languages and linguistic variations on their own, and generate knowledge from interactions, offering increasingly fluent conversations. According to a study published by Juniper Research, a bot of this type is able to save four minutes per interaction.

The future of logistics transport is multimodal, but building that future requires integrating complex management systems. AI already offers benefits to this seamless freight mobility ecosystem, including improved administrative burden for businesses, carriers and consumers.

The implementation of Artificial Intelligence in logistics will have a major impact in the coming years. And its influence will be even greater in the following aspects:

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The key role of Artificial Intelligence in logistics - Telefnica