Does AI comprehend or exemplify nihilism?
Me: Gemini, Cormac McCarthy lived only a bit into the age of AI. Do you think if he had seen how AI is developing he would have incorporated it into the future he imagined in his post-apocalyptic novel, "The Road"?
Gemini: That's a fascinating question when considering Cormac McCarthy's work. Given his literary themes and his known intellectual leanings, it's highly unlikely he would have simply added sentient AI robots or advanced technological ruins to the post-apocalyptic world of "The Road."
Here's why and how he might have subtly incorporated elements related to AI's implications:
McCarthy's Disinterest in Conventional Sci-Fi Tropes:
Focus on Fundamental Humanity: McCarthy's post-apocalyptic visions, especially in "The Road," strip away almost all technological advancements to focus on the raw, primal struggle for survival and the essence of human nature (or its degradation).
Emphasis on the Biological and Instinctual: His characters are often driven by instinct, primal urges, and the deep, almost animalistic bond of family. A complex, disembodied AI wouldn't fit neatly into that framework.
If McCarthy were to incorporate something related to AI, it would likely be through:
Philosophical Undercurrents: He might have explored the implications of AI on the human psyche or the concept of "soul" or "consciousness." Could a post-AI world be one where humans have lost some essential quality that AI now embodies, or where AI has demonstrated the utter meaninglessness of human existence?
The Nature of Intelligence and Morality: McCarthy's characters often grapple with questions of good and evil, and the arbitrary nature of violence. An AI's "morality" (or lack thereof) could have been a chilling new dimension to this. Would an AI, having perhaps caused or survived the apocalypse, demonstrate a "purer" or more "rational" form of evil than human cannibalism? Or, conversely, a detached, emotionless form of survival?
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