Gods of the Modern World

Transforming the human experience with the limitless possibilities of artificial intelligence

Photo: "Orozco - Dartmouth b" by Daderot, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

"The Epic of American Civilization" is a series of murals created by Mexican artist José Clemente Orozco between 1932 and 1934 at Dartmouth College's Baker Library in Hanover, New Hampshire. One of the most striking panels within the series is "Gods of the Modern World," a powerful critique of the dehumanizing aspects of modern society, educational institutions, and organized religion. As a long-time admirer of these murals, I can't help but draw parallels between the themes in "Gods of the Modern World" and the rapid advancements we're witnessing today with large language models and autonomous agents.

In many ways, human beings are becoming gods of this modern world, as AI-powered technologies enable us to accomplish tasks that once took decades to master in mere minutes. It's only a matter of time before these technological advancements seem almost magical, resembling capabilities that were o…