Artificial Intelligence, Automatons, and Brazen Heads

Demystifying AI by examining its mystic roots - from medieval Brazen Heads to modern AI

Imagine standing in a medieval laboratory, face-to-face, with a gleaming brass head. Its eyes flicker with otherworldly intelligence as it speaks, revealing secrets of the universe and glimpses of the future.

This isn't a modern-day sci-fi novel—it's the legend of the Brazen Head, an ancient dream of artificial intelligence that eerily foreshadowed our modern AI revolution.

Old kettles and precious plates and ornaments gathered in foreign lands were broken up and melted. The brass hilts of old swords were thrown into the melting pot. Then came days upon days of molding and shaping and fitting. And at last the eyes of the two friends were gladdened by the sight of the object of all their labor. It was the head of an image of brass—faultlessly made, beautiful in every line, a wonder to look upon.

Then began the true work of the magician.

"Thirty more famous stories retold" by James Baldwin, 1905

Friar Bacon and the Brazen Head

In the 13th century, the English philosopher Friar Bacon allegedly created an automaton capable of answering any question. Bacon and his assistant spent years constructing this marvel, but it was destroyed before they could fully realize its potential.

The Brazen Head's brief moments of operation left behind tales of its uncanny wisdom and tales of human's ambition to build an intelligence greater than ours.

While Miles was lost in thought about these strange things a slight noise caused him to look again at the brazen head. Its face still bore the smile that had braced his courage up, and he grew bold enough to speak to it.

"Ah, you head of brass," he said, "you are nothing but yellow metal. You were made of the old kettles and sword hilts that I brought to my master. How foolish for any one to waste his time in watching you! How silly of my master to starve himself and me, in order to buy brass for your making! A magician like him ought to know better. A snap of his fingers would bring us food and raiment fit for kings; but, instead, he spends his time with you, and we have nought but scraps to eat and rags to wear. Come, Master Brassy-head, out with your secret! And let it be a recipe for my master to tell him how to get rich."

Just as he spoke the last words a bright flash as of lightning lit up the brazen face, and a low sound like muttering thunder filled the room. The mouth of the image opened, its lips seemed to move, and in a voice scarcely louder than a whisper, it uttered the words—

"TIME IS!"

"Thirty more famous stories retold" by James Baldwin, 1905

Automaton (Defined by Meaning Layer GPT): An automaton (plural: automata or automatons) is a self-operating machine designed to follow a predetermined sequence of operations or respond to encoded instructions. The concept of an automaton is broad and can be found across various fields, including mechanics, electronics, computing, and even biology.

From Brass to Silicon

Despite the change in materials, the goal remains to create machines that can think, reason, and perhaps even surpass human intelligence. The ancient idea of a mystical Brazen Head has morphed into modern-day AI technology, reshaping our world at breakneck speed. The oracle-like abilities of voice computing and robotics are not far behind, promising to change how we work and live.

"Alchemy seeks to find nature's secrets that will change baser metals into gold; the android-maker brings metal to life."

Early scholars like Roger Bacon weren't just tinkering with metals; they explored the boundaries of human knowledge and immediately faced the ethical, spiritual, and religious implications. Does that sound familiar? Today's AI researchers are pushing the boundaries of what's possible, asking similar questions about our existence and place in the world.

  • Consciousness: Can a machine truly think? Early philosophers pondered whether their creations could possess a soul. Today, we debate whether AI can achieve consciousness or merely mimic human cognition. Language models have also provided new areas of study that look deeply into AI's emergent behaviors as a way to think and study human consciousness.

  • Ethics: The creators of the Brazen Head grappled with the morality of artificial creation. Today, we're embroiled in debates about AI ethics, from algorithmic bias to the potential for autonomous weapons. Initiatives like The Rome Call, a document signed by the Pontifical Academy for Life, Microsoft, IBM, FAO, and the Ministry of Innovation, showcase the diverse interests involved in AI ethics and its connection to religion and humanity.

  • Knowledge: Just as the Brazen Head promised access to universal knowledge, modern AI technology is disrupting knowledge work and the global economy—with promises to change the definition of knowledge itself.

An Eternal Quest

Understanding the historical context of AI provides crucial insights into our current trajectory. By recognizing the parallels between the past and the present, fact, fiction, and history—we can begin to examine how our predecessors thought through these issues through legends and stories in order to:

  • Anticipate ethical challenges before they arise.
  • Maintain a healthy skepticism about AI's capabilities and limitations.
  • Appreciate the continuity of human curiosity and hubris across centuries.

As we stand amid world-altering breakthroughs, we must humble ourselves and remember that we're part of a quest that spans centuries. Early scientists, while gazing into the eyes of the Brazen Head, were driven by the same curiosity, ambition, and hubris that fuels today's efforts to create an intelligence that could potentially surpass us or, at the very least, transform us.

Again the thunder rolled, and a brighter flash of lightning filled the room. Again the mouth opened, the lips moved, and a voice like the rattling of a brass kettle muttered,—

"TIME WAS!"

Miles put one hand on the door latch and with the other shook the cudgel at the image.

"Only to think," he said, "that my master and Friar Bungay should spend seven years in making a head which can tell no other secret than that! Why everybody knows that TIME WAS. Fie upon you for a brazen fraud, old Brassy-head! If you would only speak a little Hebrew or Latin, I should begin to think that you really have a secret to tell, and I should waken my master to hear it."

Scarcely had he spoken when the room was lighted up with the brightness of day. The face of the image was no longer smiling, but it bore a dreadful frown. The floor swayed and trembled. The head appeared to lift itself from its pedestal, and in a voice of thunder it cried,—

"TIME IS PAST!"

Miles in his great fright fainted and fell in a senseless heap by the door. There was a dreadful crash, a blinding cloud of smoke, and then all was still. Friar Bacon, roused by the noise, rushed into the room. The brazen head lay on the floor, shattered into a thousand pieces.

"Thirty more famous stories retold" by James Baldwin, 1905

Further Reading

Talk To Me: How Voice Computing Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Think by James Vlahos
The Brazen Head and Medieval Scholastics
Brazen Heads: The Curious Legend Behind Fortune-Telling Automata