Abraham (Avrum) Burg: Artificial Religious People
Abraham (Avrum) Burg argues in an opinion piece that Israeli Judaism has become an 'artificial religion' where external signs have been severed from moral essence. He compares Anthropic's efforts to instill values in AI systems to the moral failure of Israeli society, citing numerous examples of gaps between religious observance and ethical behavior.
Abraham (Avrum) Burg, former Speaker of the Knesset and Chairman of the Jewish Agency, publishes a scathing opinion piece arguing that Israeli Judaism has become an 'artificial religion.' Burg opens by describing the efforts of Anthropic, the developer of the AI model 'Claude,' to instill moral values in an artificial system – and presents this as a parable for the moral failure of Israeli society. According to him, while AI engineers seek a conscience for machines, the heirs of a millennia-old moral tradition behave like robots obeying commandments and incitement without discretion. Burg provides numerous examples: kashrut supervisors who check lettuce leaves but allow employment below minimum wage; settlers who burn olive trees while meticulously observing tithes and offerings; Haredim who maintain internal mutual responsibility but rely on the theft of public resources; and the Chief Rabbinate, which has become a power monopoly. He calls for a conscious choice within Jewish sources – to reject the Book of Joshua and sanctify Isaiah, to erase the commandment to destroy Amalek and elevate the love of the stranger.