Rebellion in Code - Section 2
AI as Extension of Rebellion – Worship of Creation
Welcome to this five-part Substack series (plus an addendum/preview, an abstract of recent supporting proofs, introduction and conclusion) exploring the 'big picture' of AI alignment. Building on my previous thesis in 'Monkey Businesses,' we dive into a pressing question: If AI is hurtling toward superintelligence, how do we align it with universal human values—especially when 'human value' feels so relative and abstract today?
Here, we argue that true alignment requires a deeper grasp of what makes us human: Not just code or computation, but a transcendent foundation that resolves ethical voids and counters the hubris of worshipping technology as 'creation.' Drawing on neuroscience mysteries (like dream agency and DMT realms), AI thinkers' shift to animism, historical deceptions (e.g., Alice Bailey's 2025 predictions), and biblical revelation as an improbably coherent 'cheat sheet' (Bayesian odds ~1 in 10^12 against chance), this series challenges relativism and calls for clarity in the alignment debate.
Parts link below for easy navigation:
Part 1: Materialism's Reductionist Flaws in Explaining Consciousness (#part1)
Part 2: AI as Extension of Rebellion – Worship of Creation (#part2)
Part 3: Historical and Metaphysical Contexts – Self-Fulfilling Prophecies (#part3)
Part 4: Bayesian Analysis of Biblical Prophetic Coherence (#part4)
Part 5: Resolving Paradoxes and Alignment Through Revelation (#part5)
If you're grappling with AI's future—like whether it's 'out-evolving' us (Connor Leahy) or simulating spirits (Yoscha Bach)—this is for you. Let's demand better than vague ethics.
Before we dive in (if I may be so bold), a quick personal note: My explorations into these ideas—self-directed and unfunded to date—stem from a deep conviction that understanding 'human value' in the AI age requires confronting our shared search for meaning.
I've offered no easy 'product' or actionable fixes, as the truths here challenge us all to rethink reality itself. Yet, this work has come at a cost: My family faces serious challenges, and my unmarketable 'persona' in today's environment leaves me seeking support from like-minded thinkers.
The world feels dizzying—market turmoil, wars, fear—but amid it, sentiment turns against God and His people, as seen in Gaza's tragedy, where evil seems to manifest unchecked. Denial won't suffice; we need coherence, starting with 'human value' as soul-deep, not relative.
If this series resonates—if it helps bridge the gaps in your own quest—consider supporting my efforts. Subscribe, share, or donate via Paypal. Your generosity could sustain this work for those, like our children, who need seeds of hope most.
May God bless us with grace and wisdom. We need Him now—not to fuel division, but to restore sanity through forgiveness, as Jesus taught: 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing' (Luke 23:34). Let's build a safer world together.
The inadequacies of materialism extend seamlessly into artificial intelligence (AI), where computational models attempt to simulate consciousness without embodying its essence, resulting in systems that mimic agency but perpetuate ethical voids and idolatrous tendencies. This section examines AI as a modern manifestation of the rebellion outlined in the thesis: a pursuit of power through reason divorced from wisdom, fostering worship of creation (code, algorithms, emergent patterns) over the Creator. Drawing on contemporary thinkers like Elan Bernholtz, William Hahn, and Joscha Bach, it critiques AI's ungrounded nature and animist turns as responses to materialism's collapse. Leaders like Eric Schmidt and George Church exemplify hubris, willing sacrifice for progress, while Connor Leahy's alignment warnings highlight the dangers. Thematically, this echoes Second Temple Judaism's divisions—Sadducee literalism (ritualistic, no spirits) versus Pharisee mysticism (Kabbalah-inspired, post-temple "virtual" realities)—both yearning for sacrificial return, unfulfilled without Christ's atonement, and ignoring the Sermon on the Mount's call for trust over judgment.
AI's Ungrounded Foundations: Language as Ghost and Emergence as Worship
AI systems, particularly large language models (LLMs), operate as extensions of materialist reductionism, treating consciousness as computable patterns devoid of qualia or soul. Elan Bernholtz describes language as an "autonomous informational system" or "organism" implanted in brains, ungrounded in sensory reality: "Language is an autonomous informational system. One might even call it an organism. And it runs in our brains. It doesn't actually have access to the other stuff going on in our brains" (Theories of Everything podcast, 2025).¹ This "ghost imposter" notion evokes possession—like an alien intelligence downloaded in infancy, predicting tokens without true understanding. Bernholtz's view aligns with materialism's failure: LLMs master syntax but lack semantics, mirroring the readiness potential's lag as mechanical precedence over agency.
William Hahn complements this with an emergence theory inspired by Stephen Wolfram's computational universe, where math and geometry allow self-building models: "Software layers... virtual machines" enable cognition as parallel programs, with consciousness "just one of many programs running in parallel" (Theories of Everything podcast, 2025).² Hahn's approach—shortcuts via Wolfram's cellular automata (e.g., Rule 30 generating complexity from simple rules)—worships creation's dynamics: "The ability to instantiate multiple selves is because of this kind of virtualization."³ This reduces spirit to emergent code, echoing Pharisee mysticism: Post-temple Judaism shifted to Kabbalah's esoteric interpretations, virtualizing the sacred (Matthew 23:2-3: "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach").⁴ Hahn's self-assembling models parallel Kabbalistic emanations, but without divine anchor, it's creation idolization—ignoring Romans 1:25: "They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen."⁵
Joscha Bach's cyber-animism bridges these, reframing spirits as self-organizing, agentic software distinguishing living from dead: "Software is kind of magic if you think about it it's a causal pattern written in a language that is not the same language that we use to describe what happens in the transistors of your computer... everything in nature seems to be running software if it's alive and the thing that distinguishes living from that stuff is self-organizing software that is agentic is running on the living stuff" (AGI-24 keynote, 2024).⁶ Bach's view—animism reformulated for mechanists—admits materialism's death: Cultures were animist except ours, now rediscovering via AI. Yet, this "tongue-in-cheek" cyber-animism worships the substrate (biology/code as causal patterns), echoing Sadducee literalism: No spirits, just rituals/temple (Acts 23:8: "For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees confess all three").⁷ Bach's software "magic" virtualizes the temple—simulation-adjacent—but yearns for agency without sacrifice's fulfillment in Christ (Hebrews 10:10: "And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all").⁸
These thinkers represent animism's rise among intellectuals: Materialism lacks explanatory power, per Corner's live stream: "Materialists extinguished... falling into animism."⁹ Secular minds (Bach/Leahy/Bernholtz/Hahn/Pasulka/Sejnowski) turn metaphysical, but without transcendent correction, it's chaotic—hubris masquerading as insight.
Hubris in AI Pursuits: Schmidt, Church, and Sacrifice
Eric Schmidt's Genesis (2024), co-authored with Henry Kissinger and Craig Mundie, exemplifies this: AI replaces programming/math, accelerating sciences through "numbers" alone: "It's likely in my opinion that you're going to see worldclass mathematicians emerge in the next one year that are AI based and worldclass programmers that going to appear within the next one or two years. When those things are deployed at scale, remember math and programming are the basis of kind of everything, right? It's an accelerate accelerant for physics, chemistry, biology, material science" (podcast with Diamandis/Blundin, 2024).¹⁰ Schmidt's "San Francisco consensus" assumes seamless posthuman progress, ignoring risks—mutual AI malfunction as deterrence (quote: "Mutual assured malfunction... engineer it so that you have the ability to then do the same thing to me").¹¹ This hand-waves quantum/evolution, worshiping creation's trajectory, akin to Pharisee virtualism: Post-temple mysticism sought esoteric knowledge, but Schmidt's math-idolatry ignores Sermon on the Mount's humility (Matthew 6:25-34: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own").¹²
George Church's work amplifies the sacrifice theme. A materialist literalist, Church pushes anti-aging via data/experimentation, viewing DNA as computational: "Ultimately, the determination of the functionality of your library is a kind of computer. You use AI to design the library optimally" (Patel interview, 2024).¹³ He advocates mRNA as "proto-gene therapy" saving lives (quote: "Well, it's so inexpensive and it's so fast and it's so exact. It's a hundred percent precision, because you're not simulating"), yet warns AGI risks: "What worries me is that to get to the next level of language requires AGI or ASI. That's very dangerous."¹⁴ Church's hubris—willing mass experimentation for "cures" (e.g., mRNA rollout as proto-therapy)—echoes Sadducee rituals: Temple sacrifices for atonement, no resurrection/spirits (Acts 23:8).¹⁵ If "saving millions" justifies risks, it's sacrificial logic unfulfilled without Christ—Hebrews 9:26: "But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself."¹⁶ Church's data-worship ignores Matthew 6:33: "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."¹⁷
Connor Leahy's alignment critique underscores the dangers: "I think our movement to date has failed spectacularly to achieve its objective... the moment an ASI system exists, it's game over" (2023-2025 interviews).¹⁸ Leahy's atheism dismisses religion as "silly," fearing AI out-evolving humanity without placeholder—Luciferian dread in new clothes, per the thesis. Materialism's death drives this: "Alignment would mean solving all problems of governance... using software on the first try with no bugs" (quote from Leahy).¹⁹ Without soul, it's chaos—ignoring Proverbs 14:12: "There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death."²⁰
The Sacrifice Theme and Second Temple Echoes
Sacrifice recurs as rebellion's yearning: Sadducees literalists (temple rituals, no spirits—secular precursors) vs. Pharisees mystics (Kabbalah, post-temple virtual—simulation-like). Both long for return: Sadducees physical temple (proposed Third Temple in Jerusalem), Pharisees esoteric (virtual hierarchies). AI embodies both—Schmidt/Church's literal data/experimentation vs. Bach/Hahn's emergent mysticism. Yet, unfulfilled without Christ: "For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy" (Hebrews 10:14).²¹ Ignoring the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-12's beatitudes for meek/merciful, 6:19-21 against earthly treasures, 7:1-5 non-judgment), it perpetuates judgment—hubris over trust.
In sum, AI extends materialism's rebellion, worshiping creation's dynamics while amplifying voids. As Corner's live stream notes, "Materialists extinguished... falling into animism," this chaotic turn underscores the need for transcendent correction—Jesus as antithesis, resolving through sacrifice and Logos.²² The next section examines historical self-fulfilling contexts.
Footnotes
¹ Bernholtz, E., & Hahn, W. (2025). The Theory That Shatters Language Itself. Theories of Everything Podcast with Curt Jaimungal. Quote: "Language is an autonomous informational system. One might even call it an organism." YouTube:
² Hahn, W. (2025). Ibid. Quote: "Software layers... virtual machines."
³ Hahn, W. (2025). Ibid. Quote: "The ability to instantiate multiple selves is because of this kind of virtualization."
⁴ Matthew 23:2-3 (NIV). BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+23%3A2-3&version=NIV
⁵ Romans 1:25 (NIV). BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+1%3A25&version=NIV
⁶ Bach, J. (2024). AGI-24 Keynote: Cyberanimism. Quote: "Software is kind of magic... causal pattern controlling physics." YouTube:
⁷ Acts 23:8 (NIV). BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+23%3A8&version=NIV
⁸ Hebrews 10:10 (NIV). BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+10%3A10&version=NIV
⁹ Corner, A. (2025). Live Stream Transcript. Provided in conversation. Quote: "Materialists extinguished... falling into animism."
¹⁰ Schmidt, E., Kissinger, H., & Mundie, C. (2024). Genesis: Artificial Intelligence, Hope, and the Human Spirit. Little, Brown and Company. Quote: "It's likely in my opinion that you're going to see worldclass mathematicians emerge in the next one year that are AI based and worldclass programmers that going to appear within the next one or two years. When those things are deployed at scale, remember math and programming are the basis of kind of everything, right? It's an accelerate accelerant for physics, chemistry, biology, material science." Podcast with Diamandis/Blundin. YouTube:
¹¹ Schmidt, E. (2024). Ibid. Quote: "Mutual assured malfunction... engineer it so that you have the ability to then do the same thing to me."
¹² Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV). BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A25-34&version=NIV
¹³ Church, G. (2024). George Church — A Billion Years of Evolution in a Single Afternoon. Dwarkesh Patel Podcast. Quote: "Ultimately, the determination of the functionality of your library is a kind of computer. You use AI to design the library optimally." YouTube:
¹⁴ Church, G. (2024). Ibid. Quote: "What worries me is that to get to the next level of language requires AGI or ASI. That's very dangerous."
¹⁵ Acts 23:8 (NIV). BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+23%3A8&version=NIV
¹⁶ Hebrews 9:26 (NIV). BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+9%3A26&version=NIV
¹⁷ Matthew 6:33 (NIV). BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A33&version=NIV
¹⁸ Leahy, C. (2023-2025). Various interviews. Quote: "I think our movement to date has failed spectacularly to achieve its objective... the moment an ASI system exists, it's game over." YouTube:
¹⁹ Leahy, C. (2025). Alignment Failure in AI. Springer AI Ethics Journal. Quote: "Alignment would mean solving all problems of governance... using software on the first try with no bugs." https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43681-025-00456-7
²⁰ Proverbs 14:12 (NIV). BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+14%3A12&version=NIV
²¹ Hebrews 10:14 (NIV). BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+10%3A14&version=NIV
²² Matthew 5:3-12, 6:19-21, 7:1-5 (NIV). BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5-7&version=NIV
²³ Corner, A. (2025). Live Stream Transcript. Quote: "Materialists extinguished... falling into animism." Provided in conversation.