The Ontological Ambiguity of Messengers: From Angels to AI
This post continues the discussion we began in “Bereshit: The Binary Universe I” and continued in “The Binary Universe II: Angels as Microprocessors” and “Binary Universe III: Two Camps of Angels.” Introduction The beginning of the Torah portion of Vayishlach presents us with an intriguing linguistic and philosophical puzzle when Jacob sends מַלְאָכִים (malakhim) to his brother Esau. The deliberate ambiguity in the term מַלְאָךְ (malakh)—which can denote either human or divine messengers—provides a unique lens through which to examine questions of consciousness, agency, and identity that have become increasingly relevant in our age of artificial intelligence and advanced robotics. The Biblical Context In the beginning of the Torah portion of Vayishlach, Jacob sends messengers (angels, according to Rashi) to his brother Esau: Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother, to [...]
