AI, AGI, humanity, and philosophy
Google just hired its first philosopher, hoping to uncover and learn the journey from AI to AGI. This is congruent with what I said during my speech at the Asia Pacific Airline Training Symposium (APATS) 2025 to fellow aviators, where I said the future of AI belongs to the humanities scholars and not engineers.
Who am I and why am I here?
I have always been curious. Who am I? Why am I here? These questions keep me up at the deepest nights and in the quietest corners.
This is why I am always reading, always learning, and always asking tough questions. By 18, I had learned the entire Mahayana Buddhist canon, including the esoteric texts such as the Surangama Sutra and the Diamond Sutra. The lineage holder of one of the key Tibetan Buddhist sects actually told my parents then that my learning was equivalent to a geshe (a PhD in a Buddhist university) and that I should be allowed to pursue monasticism. Of course, my parents refused to allow me to become a monk.
Later on in the 2000s, a strange case that had me in low spirits for a while gave me a reason to attend a seminary and eventually read up on the Fathers from the 2nd to the 8th century, including those of Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioach, Polycarp of Smyrna, Iranaeus, Tertullian, Augustine of Hippo, John Chrysostom, Basil, Jerome, and Origen. Later on I went on to major Orthodoxy works such as “The Way of a Pilgrim,” “Everyday Saints,” and “The Conversation with Motovilov.” I have also read extensively Asian texts such as the Analects, Tao Te Ching, Book of 5 Rings, etc.
Now, no longer a young man, I am still curious. I am still asking, who am I, and why am I here? I am still exploring what’s next.
Philosophy and AI
This brings us back to AI and AGI and why philosophy and, more so, the humanities, are important.
I have been coding since the 1970s. I understand what coding is and means. It is about logic. Being truly human is more than logic. We have emotions. We have yearnings. We have inclinations. We have “божественная искра,” or a soul. I have juggled science, engineering (including coding), art, and religion/philosophy from when I was in high school till now.
Therefore, for AI to become AGI, or to become equivalent to a human, we can no longer rely on just feeding it mere texts from the perspectives of engineers. We need to now feed it with the very same qualities that make us artists, priests, and philosophers. AI will never acquire божественная искра (loosely termed “divine spark”), but it will likely acquire the facsimile of human curiosity and the need for self-identity (Who am I and why am I here?)
So, the next marathon lap needs to pass from engineers to creators and philosophers. So friends, don’t lose hope. The next lap of AI work is coming to you.
If you like to chat more about where AI might be going, not only for aviators and businesses, but also where I believe AI can be and should be, let me know. And of course, if you are a business looking for established strategists to help you grow and profit in APAC through public relations (PR) and branding, you know who to call!
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Dr Seamus Phan – Global C-suite Publicist & Strategist (Biochemist, Cybersecurity & Webdev pioneer, Author, Journalist) with nearly 40 years of professional field experience. Some articles are reproduced at McGallen & Bolden, where he is CTO and Head of Content. Visit him on LinkedIn.