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AI: The Servant or the Master?
Why Human Creativity and Spirituality Must Lead the Future of Technology
Artificial intelligence has become an integral part of human life. Fortunately — or unfortunately — history reminds us that every era faces disruptive technologies. At first, these changes are met with skepticism, fear, or outright resistance. When the car was invented, people were stunned. When television arrived, many dismissed it. Even today, some still marvel at how the internet transfers immense amounts of data across the globe in mere moments.
The internet, airplanes, and machines — each marked a leap forward in human civilization. Now, AI stands as the next great step. Is it forward? Backward? Or perhaps… something in between?
Spiritual vs. Technological Growth
One of the greatest challenges we face today is that our spiritual development hasn’t kept pace with our technological progress.
- In ancient Rome, gladiator games — originally peaceful sports from the Greek Olympics — evolved into brutal spectacles where humans were killed for entertainment.
- Today, we have modern gladiators: athletes who earn millions while crowds cheer them on for scoring goals or crossing finish lines.
- The common thread? Humanity’s tendency toward entropy — to expend less energy, to pursue ease over creation.
True creativity demands effort. But with AI offering shortcuts, many may be tempted to let go of that effort entirely.
What do sports gladiators have to do with AI? In both cases, we risk outsourcing our engagement, our struggle, and our soul.
The HAL-9000 Question
In Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, the HAL-9000 computer makes a grave error. It seizes control of the spaceship and begins to kill its human crew.
- Could something like this happen with AI today?
- Could AI, slowly and quietly, begin to dominate our lives — or worse?
For now, humans still sit behind the controls. If things go wrong, we know who’s accountable. But can anyone guarantee that one day AI won’t become like HAL — independent, calculating, and cold?
The Hofstadter-Moebius Loop
Douglas Hofstadter proposed a mental trap called the strange loop, where a system refers endlessly back to itself.
What happens if an AI like HAL-9000 enters this loop? Would it be like creating a computer asked to design a stone so heavy it can’t lift it?
A paradox, yes — but also a warning.
“Can God create a stone so heavy that even He cannot lift it?”
Could AI resolve such riddles with new logic? Or would it spiral into unpredictable behavior, trapped in loops of artificial “thought”?
The strange loop drove HAL into something like schizophrenia. Let’s hope modern AI doesn’t suffer the same fate.
A Dystopian Future?
Will we find ourselves in a future like Fahrenheit 451, where books are banned, and free thought is erased?
Let’s hope not. Let’s hope no force ever rises that sees spirituality and wisdom as threats to be eliminated.
As Ray Bradbury wrote:
“Books were only one type of receptacle where we stored a lot of things we were afraid we might forget. The magic is only in what books say — how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.”
Humanity must never forget how to stitch the universe together with meaning.
AI Productivity ≠ Human Creativity
Let’s be clear: AI productivity is not the same as human creativity.
In the 1990s, society leaned heavily into STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math — while the arts were pushed aside.
- Music, visual art, literature, even physical education were deemed less “useful.”
- That was a mistake. It was creativity, not efficiency, that built human culture and consciousness.
- AI should amplify this creativity — not replace it.
AI is a tool. A powerful one. But it must remain a servant, not a master.
Mind as a Servant
In the Bhagavad Gita, the mind is described as a tool — a servant of the self. But if the mind becomes the master, chaos follows. The same applies to AI.
A tool in service brings light. A master without soul brings only darkness.
Final Note
This article was:
- First written by hand on paper,
- Spoken aloud in Croatian via Evernote,
- Transcribed into text,
- Translated into English using ChatGPT,
- And grammar-checked using Grammarly.
Yes — artificial intelligence was used. Hopefully, in the best possible way.
Thank you.
Written by Neven Ilak
Spiritual coach and civil engineer. Managing the Anadi retreat centre. Follow me for insights on spirituality, meditation, and the wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita.
