Anthony Levandowski, for one, welcomes our new computer overlords.
The self-driving car engineer whom Uber fired in May amid a lawsuit brought by Levandowski’s former employer, the autonomous vehicle unit of Google’s parent company, has styled himself as the leader of a new religious organization. The church is called “Way of the Future.”
Levandowski serves as president and CEO of the nonprofit entity, according to California state filingsunearthed by Wired for a recent article. The ex-Uber VP founded the organization in September 2015, although it has not yet applied with the IRS for tax exempt status.
The church’s aim? According to the legal documents, it’s to “develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on Artificial Intelligence and through understanding and worship of the Godhead contribute to the betterment of society.” You read that right.
Levandowski, the multimillionaire entrepreneur and robotics researcher at the center of a heated legal dispute between two tech titans, established a church for techno-futurists.
Not much is known about the organization, other than that it appears to espouse a worldview embraced by many science-minded dreamers in Silicon Valley. These are acolytes of the so-called singularity—the theoretical point at which machines surpass humans in intelligence.
Waymo, the self-driving car unit of Google’s parent Alphabet, has accused Levandowski stealing trade secrets and intellectual property and bringing them to its ride-hailing rival, an allegation that could, depending on how the proceedings shake out, yield criminal charges. Uber, which faces billions of dollars in liability if it is found guilty, has denied any wrongdoing.
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Despite having lost his job for failing to fully cooperate with Uber’s internal investigation, Levandowski has apparently not lost his faith.