2001: A Space Odyssey is now a reality - Is human history really coming to an end due to AI?

In 1968, still in the Showa era, a science fiction movie that surpassed all of our wild imaginations was released and became a worldwide sensation. It was titled 2001: A Space Odyssey. Several years later, I went to the movie theater as a high school student with my classmates at the time who loved science fiction topics. I still remember the shock I felt when I saw it. To say the least, I found it to be very creepy.

First off, I was amazed that the images were so beautiful and I was surprised at the plot that took place inside the spaceship. Anyway, the images unfolded in a way that was incredibly vivid at the time. However, at the same time, I had no idea what the story was about. It was so complicated that I ended up watching the movie twice and I still couldn’t understand it. Thus, I did not feel very good about it.

What was even more unsettling was that the movie is mostly silent with very little conversation. I couldn’t help but wonder what they were trying to say. Even when conversations started, they were mostly between the computer, HAL, and the humans. Astronaut Bowman tried to use HAL to his advantage as he continued his journey into the unknown world of space, but HAL saw right through him and manipulated him. Also, the ending made no sense. The film ends as if space and time are turned upside down like in Back to the Future.

What took me by surprise was the conversation exchange that took place between a human and a computer brain (AI). Moreover, the main character is HAL, a spacecraft with chips embedded into its body just like how brain cells store information. It is the role of the human to pull out and improve the cassette that serves as HAL’s brain, but HAL hates this. Before he knows it, HAL has taken control of Captain Bowman, and he finds himself in a desperate predicament with his spaceship veering out of control. What will become of Captain Bowman?

Half a century has passed since the movie came out. I am getting old. Today, in 2023, more than 50 years after the release of this film, HAL is about to become a reality. The starting point is the existence of an AI called ChatGPT. Moreover, its evolution is rapid. AI is absorbing information at a furiously fast pace. This is far beyond the realm and speed of what humans are capable of learning, and the era has finally arrived for AI to surpass humans.

By taking full advantage of this AI technology, world domination will no longer be a dream: an AI-equipped military would not be able to lose a war, they would be able to put up a virtual shield to intercept and defend against any attack, they would be able to gather information from all over the world as they wish and accomplish anything they want, and they would be able to use the world’s information to their fullest potential. After all, they will be able to manipulate all the information available to the world and brainwashing people will become even easier. Such a frightening era has arrived.

The two countries at the forefront of AI technology are actually China and Israel. Israel boasts the world’s strongest military and is a country of erudite culture, where many genius scholars such as Dr. Einstein still exist. China, on the other hand, is using its vast military and defense budget to develop an AI strategy to compete with Israel. The end result, according to the biblical book of Revelation, will be a war between Israel and China at the end of the world. After all, the hostile nation boasts a huge population. The prophecy states that “their cavalry numbers 200 million,” and that their armies “have slain one-third of the human race with fire, smoke, and sulfur, which are three plagues out of their mouths.”

This means that AI has evolved enough to now be put to practical use. The clock has started ticking for the end of human history. At the same time, Japan’s population has been declining for the past 14 years, and it has been said that there will no longer be any Japanese on the earth in a few centuries. Whichever way one looks at it, the end of the world seems to be just around the corner. Is this really a delusion or am I just jet-lagged coming back from NAMM? Pretty sure it’s not. When I twisted my cheek, it hurt. This is real. I can only hope that the world can continue to be peaceful and that we will not witness the last of the human race.