2084: Bacon, Materialism and AI
An essay on Bacon's philosophy of science, and how it applies to AI
So I was rereading Macaulay’s essay on Francis Bacon recently. Francis Bacon was a big deal in the world of philosophy. He believed that the value of a philosophy should be judged based on its fruits, how useful it is. In other words, he thought the goal of philosophy shouldn't be to make people perfect, but to make imperfect men comfortable. Bacon's focus on practicality has had a huge impact on modern science and industry as he fundamentally gave the impetus to the modern direction of science and industry - that it was meant to make people more comfortable. Thus he was the first genuine materialist, meaning he believed the natural world was something to be studied and that improving people's material conditions was just as important as improving their moral character.
Despite his influential ideas, Bacon had some major flaws. He was a corrupt judge who took bribes and was impeached for it. And he was also known for using torture to extract confessions from prisoners, despite this being a jurisprudential practice which at the time was largely unused. He also appeared as the prosecution for the capital trial of a former friend, the Duke of Essex, who had previously provided him with a 2000 pound estate. He was obsessed with achieving courtly favor, and not concerned with what he had to do to get it.
Now, I am a believer in the Baconian philosophy, as it is the fundamental underpinnings of science and of my belief in AI as something that will help make the lives of many better. But Bacon’s life is a cautionary tale, almost a parable that indicates how quickly a philosophy based solely on results without justification can lead to a personal downfall. It had to be established, as the previous philosophies, being as they were a treadmill of disposition, marking time without advancing, who considered mechanical arts as not being worthy of research, were holding back all progress, but it does indicate that in the end, why you do something can be important. It's still up for debate whether it's possible to combine the traditional focus on morality with Bacon's emphasis on usefulness.
And of course, the development of AI is often driven by a desire to solve practical problems and improve efficiency, which aligns with Bacon's emphasis on usefulness. However, there are also ethical concerns surrounding the development and use of AI, which raises the question of whether Bacon's philosophy alone is sufficient to address these issues. Some argue that a more holistic approach that takes into account moral and ethical considerations is necessary in order to ensure the responsible development and deployment of AI. Personally I think that the usefulness of AI makes it so that it needs to be created and expanded as much as possible, but I hope that it will be done in such a way that it helps more than it harms, and that too many things are not corrupted in the year 2084.