Towards the absolute unknown

Some thirty years ago, Amin Maalouf published "Les identités meurtrières", a prophetic book that remains a point of reference to this day. Since then, the Lebanese-French writer—who has been a permanent member of the Académie française since 2023—has regularly published essays to remind us of our humanity in these times when our points of reference are wavering, including, most recently, Le labyrinthe des égarés, which can be found in the anthology Un monde sans boussole, published by Éditions Bouquins. The writer returns to bookshops with Grasset, his long-standing publisher, with Le Siècle de notre métamorphose, a work that sounds the alarm about the risk of our dehumanisation, if not our very destruction, in the face of all-powerful and overwhelming scientific and technical progress. “This or that event has often been described as decisive or historic, and sometimes that was true. But today, scientific and technological advances raise an entirely new question: will humanity retain its predominant role within Creation, or will its own creations end up marginalising it? Without succumbing to facile dystopian scenarios, this question has never before been posed with such urgency,” Maalouf tells *Il Point*. The ambition to build machines capable of mimicking human behaviour dates back, however, to mythology and the Middle Ages.

“The dream undoubtedly dates back to the very origins of humanity: to create beings that not only imitate humans, but are their equals. Back then, these were myths and fantasies. What is happening today is of a different nature. Just a few decades ago, we would never have imagined that machines could mimic the workings of the brain to such an extent as to master language with such sophistication, make decisions that elude even their own designers, or improve themselves autonomously with ever-less human intervention. We have not quite reached the tipping point yet, but we sense that we might get there. This is no longer the dream of a statue coming to life; it is a technology that could actually marginalise the human species and call into question our place in Creation’, states the writer. At the end of his latest essay, Maalouf evokes the myth of King Midas, an allegory that resonates with our present day. ‘Midas had wished that everything he touched would turn to gold. Modern humanity has formulated immense desires and suddenly possesses the technical means to fulfil them. However, just as we fulfil them, we discover that these desires may prove lethal. Midas had not foreseen that the food he brought to his mouth would turn to metal and that he would starve to death. In the same way, our dream may backfire on us. We are able to extend our lives considerably and solve problems once thought unsolvable, but this omnipotence comes at a price. As with Midas, the dream risks turning into a nightmare,’ says Maalouf.

And further: “The creature believes itself to be the Creator: it manages to create far beyond what it thought possible, whilst at the same time discovering the immense danger of such boundlessness. We may witness the coexistence of a form of individual immortality and a threat of mortality for the species. We are heading towards the absolute unknown”.

During an official visit to China, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Beijing’s leader Xi Jinping discussed their longevity. “These two leaders, both in their seventies, reflected on the fact that medical advances might enable them to live to the age of 150, thereby remaining in power for decades. For people of their generation or mine, this is undoubtedly an unattainable dream; but for children being born today, living much longer and in good health is becoming an entirely plausible prospect”, according to Maalouf. However, these scientific advances could become a formidable weapon in the hands of unchecked predators. “In the book, I quote this line from Stephen Hawking: ‘The emergence of powerful artificial intelligence will be either the best or the worst thing that has ever happened to humanity.’ It is the plain truth. We could realise our greatest hopes, or plunge our species into slavery and destruction. We are moving towards these two opposing futures at the same pace, without knowing which of the two will prevail,” explains Maalouf, whose reflections echo those of Pope Leo XIV in his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas. “I had just finished my manuscript when I was struck by the fact that the Pope had dedicated an encyclical to this subject. It is remarkable that a Supreme Pontiff should address such a topic with such seriousness and timeliness. This is because artificial intelligence is not merely a technology: it forms the foundation of a new material civilisation. Faced with a change of such magnitude, it was important that the Church should not react as if it were an ordinary event,” says the French-Lebanese writer.

And again: “I feel a spontaneous and deep affection for Pope Leo. He embodies the face of an America open to the world, aware of the sufferings of our time and connected to the Global South through his ties with Latin America. The fact that he travelled to Lebanon so soon – a country ravaged by decades of suffering – moved me deeply. Our age is sorely lacking a moral compass. We are making giant strides in scientific and material terms, but our mindsets are stagnating or regressing. This gap between technological acceleration and ethical stagnation calls for a raising of consciousness. Leo XIV seems to me to possess the stature and balance necessary to embody this point of reference.” For Maalouf, “it is important to distinguish between two dimensions: spirituality on the one hand, and a sense of belonging on the other. Religion experienced as an identity or exclusive affiliation arouses great mistrust in me. On the contrary, the need for transcendence – the necessity of not becoming bogged down in material reality or the immediate contingencies of history – strikes me as essential. Any spiritual path that enables humanity to rise above itself and reflect on its destiny in a holistic way deserves to be encouraged. I am engaged in a constant spiritual quest, without any formal religious affiliation. When certain figures draw from their faith a benevolent vision of the world and work for human progress, I feel very close to them. But as soon as religion turns into an assertion of identity or a withdrawal into itself, I immediately distance myself from it.” His Lebanese origins partly explain this attitude. “Lebanon is a country where the confusion between religion and identity has led to tragic consequences. I have always felt the urgent need to separate spiritual seeking from the yoke of community,” concludes the writer. (Translation by Mauro Zanon)