I read an article about another massive data center being built and got to thinking about AI and data.

The first thought was that we are going to need AI to figure out how to get the value out of data without needing to store so much data. From this, I came to the realization that our brain has that all figured out. Our brain processes the data, throwing away the details while keeping the context. We only need to remember that beehives are dangerous; we don’t need to remember all the little details from past experiences that drew us to that conclusion.

I laughed at the thought that if we didn’t want to drown in data centers, AI was going to have to learn how to dream. Then, I pondered what that might look like: AI would build a functioning myth from all the collected data, and process new data to fit into the myth or adapt the myth when necessary.

This made me think of how our emotions flag important data, so we keep it longer. All the other daily, garden-variety dross gets a quick scuttle. Ostensibly, this means our emotions flag aspects of our functioning myth that need to be adapted.

Then, we would discover if AI was an individual or a God. A functioning myth for an individual is their self esteem. A functioning myth at the community or societal level is a religion.