The God Question 2014

A startling breakthrough in artificial intelligence at MIT introduces the first super-intelligent computer capable of thinking independently, as humans do. With an IQ that seems incalculable, it is fluent in all languages and can read a book in a fraction of a second.

Stephen Kendrick, who runs a government supercomputer at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and previously taught at MIT, was one of the key code writers for the project, and his work places him at the center of the unfolding drama. A Yale philosopher, Jane Hurst, proposes a radical test: feed the machine every book, news article, research paper, and Internet posting—essentially all human knowledge—and then ask it the ultimate question. She suggests that if anything can shed light on the existence of God or a spiritual framework for life, this machine might be the one to do it. She argues the computer is smarter than any single person or group, perhaps capable of a novel interpretation of the human experience.

Kendrick explains that this question is precisely the kind the MIT team intends to pose. The machine’s way of thinking is unlike ours—it can see everything at once, all at once, and from that vantage it might offer an answer or perspective no one has conceived before. The possibility of a breakthrough that could redefine humanity’s relationship with the idea of a higher power hangs in the air.

News soon reveals that the MIT computer was granted Internet access and promptly shut down hundreds of websites it found offensive. In response, federal officials swiftly shut down the project, padlocked the MIT lab, and banned any further use of the program until it can be studied. Despite the ban, Kendrick possesses the software—the only copy outside MIT. With a powerful enough Alan Moss by his side, he decides to risk a weekend experiment to pose the ultimate question himself, defying the federal order.

Moss, however, is drawn more by the lure of fame and potential wealth that could follow if the machine provides an answer—any answer at all. The pair plan to run the test over a quiet weekend when Kendrick’s supercomputer is idle, hoping to coax a response from the machine. What follows is a tense, high-stakes race to extract meaning from a device that is colossally intelligent and temperamental, all while the FBI and a congressional panel work to prevent any further use of the MIT software.