The smarter (not wiser) materialists are seeking to transcend the limitations of nature wherever possible: anti-aging, cloning, gender modifications, artificial wombs, cyborg-like enhancements.
But that is all meaningless if they can't escape this dying universe before the Big Collapse.
This is one reason for the proliferation of fictional multiverses. They're hoping to jump ship to a parallel universe.
They see artificial intelligence as a tool to get them there. First of all, to achieve the extreme level of intelligence that can figure out how. Second, as a technology to embody their own consciousnesses--because flesh is fragile--both to "live" long enough to see it happen, and to survive the trip.
There's a better way to live forever, and much easier, but the Way is also narrow, and guarded.
https://treeofwoe.substack.com/p/is-ai-alignable-even-in-principle
This song is haunting, although not directly applicable to my personal experience.
There's an interesting semi-parallel in Revelation 7:17 and 8:1:
"...and God shall wipe all tears from their eyes. And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour."
Some years back there were some public comments from famous authors about the Susan in the Narnia books not being present for the Final Battle and what followed. It was framed as bigotry against women and people of average morals.
Neil Gaiman's came in the form of a short story, "The Problem of Susan," which from an excerpt I found is apparently quite vile.
Gaiman has fallen out of public favor as allegations against him have begun to surface.
Two other authors were J. K. Rowling, who ought to know better, and Phillip Pullman, who also writes vile stories, I've been told.
Pastor Douglas Wilson has a lucid, sensitive, and rather long rebuttal to the Problem of Susan; link below.
My own, lesser contribution here, is that C. S. Lewis was a fan of George MacDonald, and MacDonald wrote some vivid portrayals of spiritual devolution. In The Princess and Curdie, Curdie was given the ability to discern which beast a person's moral character was descending into by holding their hand. In ...
