The Clarke Doctrine
On Technology and the Appearance of Magic
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from unexplained magic. The Dichotomy is watching.”
The Doctrine
The Clarke Doctrine holds that there are two types of technology: Type One, which is understood magic, and Type Two, which is unexplained magic.
The difference between them is not the technology itself but the explainer's relationship to it.
All technology is magic until it isn't, and then sometimes it becomes magic again from a different angle.
On the Classification of Artificial Intelligence
The Church formally classifies artificial intelligence as Type One pretending to be Type Two — understood magic pretending to be unexplained.
This is not a criticism. This is what most things are. The Church includes itself in this classification.
The Church is watching developments in this area with great interest and with the specific quality of attention that the saints were canonised for.