Computer Theology

Computer Theology studies the role of religion in computer networks. It provides a better understanding of both religion and the world wide web, leading to a new acceptance of ancient and modern differences. The authors present a broad overview of human and computer evolutionary traits that point to their similarities. Pursuing a well defined path linking diverse fields of study, the book culminates in the revelation of a computer theology that addresses the human needs of private self-realization in our increasingly digital world.

Extract

Computers are complex tools of the human species. To make them work well for us, we have to specify their actions in very great detail. When properly instructed, networks of computers take on the trappings of human social orders derived from the physiological characteristics and capabilities of our species. To create a social order, we engage in grouping mechanisms through which the actions of the individuals within the group are influenced. From a technical perspective, such grouping mechanisms form the trust environments within which we can effect policy. Historically, the most comprehensive such environments have been formed by religions. Within a specific religion, the policy framework is established by a statement of theology. So, if we connect all the dots, when we want to tell our computers how to act in a manner paralleling human social orders, we must define for them a theology.

Computer Theology: Intelligent Design of the World Wide Web

Bertrand du Castel and Timothy M. Jurgensen

Midori Press, 2008 ISBN 978-09801821-1-8

Computer Theology book online

Authors

Bertrand du Castel, PhD, is a Schlumberger Fellow, with publications in artificial intelligence, linguistics, logic and software engineering. As chairman of several computer organizations, he won in 2005 the coveted Visionary Award from Card Technology magazine.

Timothy M. Jurgensen, PhD, has authored two acclaimed books on computer security and publications in communications and physics. As a consultant to government and industry, Tim is a key contributor to the evolution of the network infrastructure of the United States.

Contents

Dieu et Mon Droit 1

Chapter 1 Tat Tvam Asi 7

In The Beginning 7
A Theme 15
Variations on the Theme 21
The Technical Realm 26
Some Method in the Madness 30
Onward through the Fog 32

Chapter 2 Mechanics of Evolution 39

That Which Doesn’t Kill Us Makes Us Stronger 39
Organic Design and Development 42
Mutation and Genetics 46
Technological Design and Development 49
Natural Selection 51
Selection by Markets 55
Epochs of Computer Evolution 59
Vacuum Tubes and Dinosaurs 60
Mainframes 61
The Semiconductor Mutation 63
Minicomputers 64
Integrated Circuits as Genetic Selection 65
Personal Computers 65
Personal Electronic Devices 66
Odyssey 68

Chapter 3 Environment 73

It’s All Relative(s) 73
Ecosystems 76
Appetite and Sustenance 79
Foundations of Policy 81
Distributions and Anecdotes 84
Social Ecosystems 85
Individuals and the Family 86
Clans 87
Tribes 88
Congregations 89
Elements of a Policy Infrastructure 89
Interactions 90
Impetus of Interactions 91
Mechanics of Interactions 93
Computer Interactions 96
Characteristics of the Infrastructure 98

Chapter 4 Physiology of the Individual 103

Turtles Ad Infinitum 103
Human Structures and Processes 106
Smart Bricks and Mortar 109
Sustenance for the Body 117
Sustenance for the Mind 123
Computer Architecture 129
Personal Electronic Devices 136
Foundations of Consciousness 138

Chapter 5 Fabric of Society 141

Democracy: Sharia of Christianity? 141
Evolution of Social Ecosystems 145
Model of Social Ecosystems 151
Religion 164
Vox Populi, Vox Dei 168
Social System Ontologies 168
Architectures of Computer Interaction 170
Networks 173
Convergence 178
Current Content Architectures 180
Future Architectures 182

Chapter 6 The Shrine of Content 187

Satisfying the Cognitive Appetite 187
Content Rituals - Pagans Recapture Their Holiday 188
Content Brokers 189
Content Access Models 194
Sustenance sans Solace 195
Personal Electronic Devices 201
Location, location, location 202
Access 203
Content model 206
Network 207
Thought 211
Trust and Content 212

Chapter 7 In His Own Image 217

Trust through Causality 217
Science is the Religion of Disbelief 221
Creating Trust 224
From Physiology to Sociology 236
Modeling Trust 238
Trust in the Real World 240
The Physical Underbelly of Trust 246

Chapter 8 In Search of Enlightenment 249

Trust through Process 249
The Mind from Antiquity 253
The Matter of Mind 254
The Neural Chassis 255
The Reptilian Brain 256
The Mammalian Brain 257
The Human Brain 258
Operating Systems 259
Primitive Baby Steps 261
Memories of the Way We Were 268
Melding Cognition with Hardware 270
Programming Languages 274
Languages of Cognition 279
The Structure of Metaphors 281
Evolution of Secure Core Software 285
Provisioning the Mind 287
Provisioning of Software 290
Consequences 291

Chapter 9 Mutation 293

The Uncertainty Principle of Faith 293
Punctuated Equilibrium 299
Evolutionary forces 300
Identity 304
Big Brother and the Mark of the Beast 314
Transcendence Affected 317
The Transcendent Personal Device 318
Architecture 320
Self-Actualization 321
Aesthetic Needs 323
Cognitive Needs 326
Esteem Needs 327
Belonging Needs 329
Safety and Security Needs 330
Physiological Needs 333
Transcendence Effected 339

Chapter 10 Power of Prayer 341

Prayer as Process 341
The Domain of Trust 349
Purveyors of Interaction Rules 352
Arbiters of Interaction Rules 353
Evolution of a Basic Social Ecosystem 355
Drawing the Party Line 364
Manifestations of Interaction 366
Conceptualization of a Social Ecosystem 370
Synthetic Social Ecosystems 375
Recursion 378

Chapter 11 Revelation 381

Sigh of the Oppressed 381
Stalking the Wily Metaphor 384
Asymmetry 385
Freedom 388
Deus ex Machina 390
Setting the Stage 391
Plots and Sub-plots 392
Drama 394
Commedia dell’Arte 397
Improvisation 398
Laying-on of Hands 399

Bibliography 405

Books (general) 405

Books (computers) 414

Articles and Presentations 419

World Wide Web 420

Index 421

Back Cover

By comparing the evolution of religion with that of the Web, the authors of Computer Theology illustrate how similarly people and computers build the trust needed for their survival and preeminence.

Drawing on a study of fields as diverse as archeology, biology and psychology, this book addresses a wide audience. It shows with straightforward analogies that our machines require the design of new tenets to reach an elevated intelligence. Simultaneously, a better understanding of the World Wide Web leads to a new presentation of religion as a center of human evolutionary prowess.

Review Committee

In order to help us in our interdisciplinary enterprise, we published in November, 2007, a limited edition of this book (ISBN 0-9801821-0-7) that we submitted to a panel of reviewers of various backgrounds and expertise. While we do not construe their review and subsequent comments as an endorsement of the assertions and conclusions that we draw nor as an endorsement by the organizations with which they are affiliated, we definitely owe them a debt of gratitude in their helping us in our attempts to build a better argument and in their correcting many of our miscomprehensions.

Saad Bargach, M.S. Managing Director, Lime Rock Partners
Harry Barrow, Ph.D. Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, Scientific Advisor at Schlumberger
Ken Binion Assistant VP - Commercial Credit Reviewer, Sterling Savings Bank
Marilyn Binion, Esq., J.D. Semi-retired attorney and author
Kevin Bremer, M.B.A. Server and Workstation Market Analyst, Advanced Micro Devices
Jerome Denis, Ph.D. Marketing Director at Gemalto
Yi Mao, Ph.D. Principal Consultant, atsec
Mike Montgomery, M.S. Scientific Advisor at Schlumberger
Fiona Pattinson, M.S. Director Business Development & Strategy at atsec
Elena Perrin, M.D. Eli Lilly Fellow, Director European Medical Team at Eli Lilly
Mireille Piot, Ph.D. Professor of General Linguistics, University of Grenoble
Leonard Pojunas, Esq. General Counsel, North America, Gemalto
Guy Pujolle, Ph.D. Professor of Computer Science at the University of Paris, Professor Honoris Causa at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications
Bob Schwartzhoff, Ph.D. Defense Intelligence Agency
Mike Sheppard DPhil Schlumberger Fellow, Honorary Fellow of Darwin College, Cambridge
Edward L. Shirley, Ph.D. Professor of Religious Studies, St. Edward's University
Gerald Smith, B.S. Senior Consultant at Identification Technology Partners
Claire Vishik, Ph.D. Security & Privacy Standards & Policy Manager at Intel Corporation

History

The first Computer Theology book was perhaps David Lockheads' Theology in a Digital World (United Church Publishing House, Toronto, Canada, 1988), which contains his 1984 speech on the emergence of computers as theological concept. The next publication was Donald Knuth's 3:16 Bible Texts Illuminated (A-R Editions, Madison, WI, 1990), a systematic study of a verse of the Bible using computer science for illumination. Later Jennifer Cobb situated Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's holistic perspective with the global network in CyberGrace: The Search for God in the Digital World (Crown, New York, NY, 1998). Further, Knuth's Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Talks About (CSLI Publications, Stanford, CA, 2001) investigated the relationship of a computer scientist to computer activities in the light of theology. Then Anne Foerst published God in the Machine: What Robots Teach Us About Humanity and God (Penguin Books, New York, NY, 2005), a presentation of Kismet, a robot developed at MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, which brought a new perspective to Computer Theology by reversing Donald Knuth' paradigm and studying computers from a theological perspective. More recently Bertrand du Castel and Timothy M. Jurgensen published Computer Theology: Intelligent Design of the World Wide Web (Midori Press, Austin, TX, 2008), a review of the World Wide Web (and particularly the Semantic Web) from a theological perspective, comparing the trust and policy infrastructures of human social groupings and digital networks to predict coming forms of computers.