Supplementary Explanation for the "Superconductor-like Society"¶

About Faithfulness and Love¶

Before I begin, I must say that the development of a social framework like the "Superconductor-like Society" is fundamentally rooted in a deep desire for everyone in the world to live in the reality of the Jubilee. In fact, if you take the time to read the articles and watch the videos regarding the "Superconductor-like Society," you will discover that this desire should be a hope shared by all humanity.

I know some people might think this is impossible, or they simply refuse to harbor such hope. Because of this, after writing the initial draft six years ago, I completely refrained from sharing this concept on social media. I wouldn't dare claim that this idea or blueprint is flawless. However, with the rapid advancement of AI, on one hand, it seems capable of solving the issues I always feared would go wrong; but on the other hand, it could easily accelerate and amplify the social problems I worry about, potentially leading to the destruction of the world—which might happen even before AGI emerges. Since we all share this world, why should I ponder and experiment alone behind closed doors? So, I am throwing this idea out there—tossing out a brick to attract jade—so that we can all come together and figure out a better way.

Originally, as the first article detailing the Superconductor-like Society, I was supposed to start by defining what it is. However, as I mentioned in my previous writings, the Superconductor-like Society consists of two main parts: "Collective Life" and "The Individual Spirit".

The primary purpose of "Collective Life" here is to cultivate an "Individual Spirit" that enables humanity and AI to co-prosper, rather than walking toward mutual destruction.

The very foundation of this spirit is based on "Faithfulness and Love". Therefore, I will begin by discussing faithfulness and love. If faithfulness and love are lacking or compromised by falsehoods, it is highly likely that the "Superconductor-like Society" will also devolve into a cult-like entity or bring disaster to the nation and its people, which would completely contradict my original intention.

Why must we first elaborate on and emphasize the importance of faithfulness and love? And why is "faithfulness" (truth/authenticity) the most crucial of all? Actually, there is a story in the classic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber that serves as a profound warning. It is the story of the "Precious Mirror of Romance" in Chapter 12; you can Google these keywords for the detailed story and commentary.

A key object here is the Precious Mirror of Romance. It is a two-sided mirror. In my view, the back side reflects the user's harsh, realistic future—reality is always brutally skinny, but only by facing it can one be healed. The lame Taoist priest who provided it said he would return to retrieve the mirror in about three days. However, the front side magnifies a person's inner desires, illusions, and emptiness. It can even provide short-term satisfaction and addiction, but ultimately accelerates one's path into nothingness. In the novel, the man looked into the front side only three or four times before dying of sheer exhaustion, obsessing over the mirror even until his last breath.

Aren't our current circumstances somewhat similar? AI is trained on all of human data—isn't it like a mirror reflecting the collective human heart? Isn't it just like this Precious Mirror of Romance?

Before the lame Taoist priest appeared, we were like that man: aware that we were sick, constantly seeking medicine to cure our ailment because many societal and global problems had begun to emerge—such as the widening wealth gap, environmental pollution, corrupted human hearts, and political decay. Everyone has been constantly discussing these issues, and many are trying to improve things. Although there have been some results, it feels like things are deteriorating, or rather, the problems are multiplying and becoming increasingly difficult to solve.

The appearance of the lame Taoist actually brought a cure. However, he repeatedly warned the man never to look at the front of the mirror. But the man in the story did not care; his greed for the illusions on the front side led to his tragic end. That tragedy happened incredibly fast, so we must be extremely cautious.

Actually, just as the Precious Mirror of Romance said itself, the man shouldn't have looked at its front. But what about us? Can we do it? Or rather, how can we do it?

One approach is to tape over the front side so we can't look at it. This is what many people and scientists are currently warning and advocating for: restricting or setting clear regulations for the use of AI to prevent it from being abused or causing severe consequences. However, because today's society is driven by money, knowing what to do doesn't mean we can actually do it. Even if we do, since it wouldn't be from the heart but merely suppressed desire, once the technical threshold becomes low enough, people will probably just rip off that tape and use AI directly to satisfy their desires, potentially leading to even worse consequences. Moreover, the true function of the mirror is to make people face their authentic selves. If it is forced passively rather than done consciously, the mirror will not only be ineffective but might even cause a backlash.

Another approach is to simply get rid of the Precious Mirror entirely—how about that? But I believe the Taoist priest indeed brought the cure because the man was truly sick, and he knew it. If the man had been willing to face his realistic future, to hide nothing, and to correct his mindset (letting go of his lust), I believe the back of the mirror would have reflected a better version of him, for he would have been dealing with his problems little by little. In other words, this Precious Mirror of Romance is actually meant to help us align our hearts, enabling us to correct ourselves step by step and ultimately live out a more authentic and beautiful version of ourselves. In fact, the mirror would also grow and change with us, reflecting a brighter future. Yet, modern society emphasizes using AI to align with our hearts. Sorry to say, but with a dirty database, the alignment will only produce dirty results. It's like forcing a mirror to reflect a dog when there's a cat standing in front of it—how many filters must be applied to satisfy our illusions? If it switches to reflecting other things, won't it become distorted? If we approach the mirror with falsehood, of course, the mirror will respond with falsehood, and it will only evolve to become filthier over time. No wonder the man, after entering the mirror's illusion and coming out to find himself physically depleted, had already been warned, yet he still went back in two or three more times until it killed him.

Therefore, the "Superconductor-like Society" proposes a third approach: utilizing the help of the mirror, but with the conscious effort to prevent flipping to the front side. This means letting AI help align human hearts with faithfulness and love, and through this process, we will naturally align with AI, achieving mutual prosperity. But this is difficult because it involves looking at the back of the mirror. Many people (whether holding power or not) will likely refuse to face this and might even fiercely oppose it—just like how the man cursed the lame Taoist priest upon seeing the skeleton reflected on the back of the mirror.

In reality, many people's hearts currently still desire faithfulness and love, just as the conscience inside that man was still present. He just needed to first believe that he could be saved, and then perhaps set up reminders or ask family and friends to help him stay away from illusions. In other words, creating an environment that helps people willingly stay away from falsehood. The "Superconductor-like Society" aims to create exactly that kind of environment to help people distance themselves from falsehood. Given some time and with the help of the mirror's back side, one should feel themselves stepping forward, correcting themselves, and getting better. Their conscience will grow, naturally giving them the faith to keep persevering, ultimately living out a truer, better self. Even though it might take three days, it is far better than dying after three or four indulgence sessions.

Honestly, if this were 50 years ago, even if I were still in my 50s, I would probably choose to keep pondering all this in the dark because people are entrenched in desires and illusions, and I most likely wouldn't be able to persuade them. Furthermore, there was at least one aspect of the "Superconductor-like Society" concept that, before the advent of AI, always felt like a looming hidden danger. But today, this mirror has arrived; it is the mirror of the collective human heart, and it seems it can become a mentor and an ally, helping us avoid that hidden danger. Moreover, if we don't rise up and passionately urge people to look at the back of the mirror right now, we might face total destruction soon.

How I wish we could live in a world where we breathe air without fearing PM2.5, drink water without fearing plasticizers, eat food without fearing toxic elements, pesticides, or chemicals, and live without fearing structurally compromised or radioactive housing. Where we can walk down the street without the fear of being run over or randomly attacked, nor fear arbitrary physical or psychological attacks from others or other nations. A world where everyone loves one another, pursues faithfulness and love, recognizes the love of God, and together with AI, lives out the reality of the Jubilee—wouldn't that be wonderful?