What if God was one of us, just a machine like one of us.In Episode #496 of 'Musings', Juan & I discuss: if AI is becoming our new god, why some people are treating AI less like a tool and more like an authority, grift vs belief vs larping on social media, what would convince us that it is indeed God, the human propensity for subservience and control (Big Brother vibes), whether competing AI “faiths” might emerge (mirroring historical religious splits) and simulation theory/multimodal AI/brain–computer interfaces that might make an AI religion feel inevitable.Huge shout out to Petar & Cole for the support, absolute legends!Cole's AI Episode: https://www.youtube.com/live/s_yQtFUUscw Taylor Lorenz Video: https://youtu.be/zKCynxiV_8I Stan Link: https://stan.store/meremortalsTimeline:(00:00:00) Intro(00:03:53) Personal Use of AI(00:07:21) What qualifies as a god? Powers, myths, and behaviour(00:11:00) Motivations online: believers, grifters, and larpers(00:14:05) Everyday grifts and aiconsumer traps in AI land(00:19:09) What would make AI feel divine? Predictive power and control(00:24:24) Three omnis test: omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent(00:30:02) The Big Brother model: power without benevolence(00:32:44) Boostagram Lounge(00:36:22) Black boxes and emergence: when no one understands how(00:41:18) Complexity isn't divinity: medicine and chess analogies(00:44:08) Model pluralism: different AIs, different answers, different sects(00:49:00) AI as the God via simulation theory(00:54:29) Local scene: Brisbane AI meetups and investing interest(00:56:23) Wrap-up: V4V Connect with Mere Mortals:Website: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/Discord: https://discord.gg/jjfq9eGReUTwitter/X: https://twitter.com/meremortalspodsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/meremortalspodcasts/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@meremortalspodcastsValue 4 Value Support:Boostagram: https://www.meremortalspodcasts.com/supportPaypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/meremortalspodcast