The Principality of A.I.

[Tiger the Lion]

The Principality of A.I.


              I
              A
              M
      rabbi T holes
              H
              E
              W
              A
              Y

[brynmawr1]

The Principality of A.I.


              I
              A
              M
      rabbi T holes
              H
              E
              W
              A
              Y

Hi Paul,

Nice work.  I think I've parsed it out.  Good use of form to give reader clues.  I went back and forth on whether I wanted the horizontal and vertical lines reversed for various reasons, but I think it does work best the way you arranged it.  Formatting must have been a bitch?
Cheers,
steve

[Mark A Becker]

Hi Paul-

I kept coming back to this one because it perplexed me with its seeming simplicity.

The concrete form displays a cross, and I AM THE WAY strongly suggests Jesus.

What of the title then?  For this poem I defined 'principality' as 'supreme power over a smaller entity'. 

With so much power ascribed to AI these days, it has been predicted that it will reach a singularity, that hypothetical point at which technological growth will become uncontrollable, resulting in unforeseeable changes to human civilization. 

Yet, I find that some areas are still well beyond AI's ability, such as the 'rabbit holes' that exist when trying to apply logic (or machine learning) to subjects like Jesus.  Some might even contend that Jesus himself was the focal point for a type of singularity, as the religion built around him definitely resulted in unforeseeable changes to human civilization.

Interesting that the cross you formatted uses 5 letters on each side of the cross-beam, to maintain balance: 'rabbi' and 'holes'.  Interesting-er is that Jesus of course, is also described as a rabbi. And the 'holes' are those caused by nails at his crucifixion.

These effective short ones have a way of sticking with me.  And this one is quite effective.  It suggests a question, without positing an answer, thereby leaving it up to the reader's interpretation.

The question it asked me: "will AI ever be as powerful as the message of Jesus?"  And down the rabbi(t)holes we go...

It's simple, yet devilishly clever. Or is that angelically clever?

As you can see, I read a whole lot into your short poem.

Thanks for posting it,
Mark

[Mark A Becker]

... and there's more:

I failed to mention that the CAPS vs lower case is also quite effective. ALL CAPS for the 'divine' statement, and all lower case to reveal the 'rabbi' 'holes' as distinctly human.

[brynmawr1]

it's interesting as I took a more irreverent interpretation. I read the whole piece as ironic.

The rabbit hole reference gave me a Lewis Carroll vibe. The rabbit hole as a place of irrationality and hypocrisy. The cross representing the intersection of Judaism and christianity but not in a reverent context given the use of rabbi and holes to create "rabbit holes". To me, not an indication of respect. The vertical line "I am the way" goes down through the rabbit hole, also ironic given its literal biblical implication, and also doesn't suggest respect. The title gave me the greatest pause. I had to resort to google(bleh) where I learned that there is thought to be a group of angels termed "the principality"(5th order out of 9) and A.I. I interpreted as ironic, a sort of oxymoron. Especially when overseen by angels. But then I am a cynical bastard when it comes to religion.

Paul, either way, you have created some discussion. A clever poem!
steve

[Mark A Becker]

Paul, either way, you have created some discussion.  A clever poem!

Hey Steve-
I appreciate your interpretation, and Paul did succeed at creating a discussion that is much longer than the poem. It's fascinating how short poems can do that.
...Mark

ps. Whatever Paul intended, I had fun describing my interpretation. I very much like Steve's interpretation, as well, and I picked up a Lewis Carroll vibe, too. I rather hope that Paul just leaves this one open to further interpretation, and if I gauge him correctly, I bet he will. Paul is subtle, and intentional- he doesn't waste words.

[Tiger the Lion]

Steve and Mark, thanks for spending so much time with this. As per Mark's wishes, I won't say much more about it. 
I will say that the title was not meant to be enigmatic. The poem (if you can call it that) was partially inspired by Ephesians 6:12 --- "...for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers..." - It's a favorite verse of mine and pops up once in awhile in my scribblings. 

P.S. for Steve. I generally write in a Word program, then copy and paste here. But if you ever want to post a concrete poem, it's much easier to type it straight to the PP page. -- Trust me on that!!