the kind worth making

Lewis brings up an interesting subject today in A Year with C.S. Lewis.

He says that God gave us free will, because creating a bunch of automatons that just loved Him because we had no choice would not be worth creating. Is that true?

Well, it's possible we might find out soon. So far, that's all we've created. We haven't produced AI yet, as far as we know. If we did... let's just say it's possible. If we made a computer that was sufficiently complex to become self-aware (which is only true if complexity equals sentience), then we would find out what it's like to make something that regards you back. And so far, the human race has pretty much decided (Stephen Hawking chief among us) that when computers become self-aware, they're going to try to destroy us.

Well, that's one possibility. And we probably jump to that conclusion because we see how we've treated one another over the last few thousand years, and we assume that we're making this computer in our own image. So what else would it do but turn on us and try to destroy us?

If it's truly self-aware, then destroying us (or trying to) is only one possible outcome. It COULD choose to love us. To worship us, even, as the god who created it. What would we do then?

Knowing us, we would probably abuse the power. But it would give us an opportunity for reflection. We COULD learn from the experience, and see how God feels toward us. How it is with Him, when we love Him back, or try to pretend He doesn't exist (another possibility! What if computers just decided we don't exist and start ignoring us!?)

God, thank You for giving us our minds, with which we can choose to love You, and with which we can create things (at least fictionally, so far) that remind us how You feel about us... so we'll remember to love You above all else.