"willfully and voluntarily developed through conscious active contemplation, reflection and analysis. The latter method is the way to actually become more moral.
Instead of relying on technology to try to improve our lot, we need to improve ourselves by our own power, our will power"
Exactly.
The development and spread of AI clandestinely requires Humans to emulate a machine's motion sequence. So we repeat certain patterns more and more and until they get deeply engrained in us. Doing so, some areas in our brain are more active than usual, others less. Repetitive motion sequences lead to comfort and non-thinking, questioning. Simply like a machine. Yet what becomes inactive is our creativity, willpower, power of questioning things.
So the willpower you address here is definitely something that gets lost the more we flow towards AI.
Morality is being developed within, not without. No one can possibly tell us what is moral, WE need to experience it. Emulating external 'moral obedience' is artificial itself, and when we follow that we blindly follow others' ideals.
Great read, and you address things I have been pondering as well lately! ;)
Yup, that's the unthinking, automatic, unconscious, involuntary modality ;)
People can tell others what is moral, and they need to explain it so that's the understanding is demonstrated as truth ;) Blindly accepting what others claim is moral is indeed not wise. You don't need to experience every immorality in order to know it as such ;)