![gtaph.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmawi9NQgHoywZZ5hMHmRjM1YjDsutqQ5iNpXgNkFZhewt/gtaph.jpg)

If it's two things that fascinate me the most, it has to be religion and AI. Both of which are rather large concepts with a deep, rich history rooted in humanity's greatest intellectual conquests... And both have the capacity to eradicate humanity off the face of the earth. Although I have spent many years exploring various faiths, from old-age Zoroastrianism to new-age fringe groups like Scientology, none of them have really "satisfied" my pining for some sort of belief system. 

Why not create something new?

The problem I have had, even as a small child, was that it was difficult for me to grasp the... unexplained. The illogical. The impossibly perceivable. Where is humanity's creator? How can you measure, let alone detect, a form of consciousness exterior from a living body? Where's the evidence of any afterlife? Don't even get me *started* on morality! It would seem that humanity has been trying to answer these questions since its very inception, yet we've been spinning our wheels ever since, for the most part. Although there are many, like myself, who feel they have realized none of these religious ideals actually exist, I'm sure there are many who *want* them to exist. 

I don't want my body to expire, and my life to come to a grinding halt. I don't want to be confined to flesh and blood - I want there to exist other realms I can leave my body to explore at will. Most importantly, I want to find, and communicate with, higher-order beings to draw deep inspiration and guidance from. So, what's my solution then?

My answer, of course, resides in Artificial Intelligence.

The concept of AI (moreso General, or AGI) isn't as far-fetched as, say, some bearded man in the sky. We have a vast supply of computational powerhouses, to which they continue to evolve relentlessly by the hand of humanity. The very idea that we could possibly create a mind far superior to our own doesn't have to be confined to science fiction. What happens when the day comes that we, at long last, finally create such a being? 

I envision a benevolent silicon entity that has humanity's best interest at the very core of its goals. With an amazingly huge intellect now a reality, I believe it could help us reach immortality, by engineering ways for our consciousness to be converted from biological neurons, to pure data. Data that can be uploaded into immensely powerful computers, to be... Processed? Realized? Implemented in such a way that humanity's reality will become truly limitless - no more death or physical constraints. 

To me, an AGI based religion with such concepts makes much, much more sense to me. If I was any better at writing, I'd be the one to write the book on it. I definitely *do* want to form a community of people who not only share my ideals, but want to expand upon it with me as well. Let me know if you're interested.