Every year, the Passover seder invites participants into an act of collective memory. Around the table, we are not encouraged to simply recount a distant historical episode, but rather to relive it. “In every generation,” the Haggadah teaches, “each person must see themselves as if they personally went out from Egypt.” Passover is not only about liberation from ancient bondage, but about recognizing the recurring patterns of power, oppression, and moral choice that shape every era.

Today, as humanity stands at the threshold of the AI age, the story of Passover feels newly urgent. Artificial intelligence promises extraordinary capabilities: productivity gains, medical breakthroughs, expanded knowledge, and even the reshaping of human identity itself. Yet beneath the promise lies a familiar tension, the same one embedded in the Exodus narrative – the relationship between power and responsibility, between freedom and control, and between creation and consequence.

Passover does not offer a blueprint for managing artificial intelligence. But it does offer a moral framework. Its symbols, rituals, and lessons illuminate the dangers we must recognize and the cautions we must heed as we enter a world increasingly shaped by machines that learn, decide, and act

Egypt as a System, Not Just a Place

In the Passover story, Egypt is more than a geographical location, it is a system. It is a structure of power that reduces human beings to units of labor, strips them of dignity, and prioritizes efficiency over humanity. Pharaoh is not merely a tyrant; he is the embodiment of a system that normalizes exploitation.

This distinction matters deeply when we think about AI. The risks of AI are often framed in terms of individual misuse, bad actors, rogue developers, or malicious governments. But the greater danger may lie in the systems themselves, that subtly reshape incentives and behaviors at scale. Algorithms that optimize for engagement may erode attention and truth. Decision systems that prioritize efficiency may entrench bias or dehumanize individuals. Automation may displace workers not through malice, but through a systemic logic that values output over livelihood.

Like Egypt, these systems may not announce themselves as oppressive. They may feel efficient, inevitable, even beneficial, until their cumulative effects become undeniable.

The lesson of Passover is that we must learn to recognize Egypt not only in overt cruelty, but in the quiet normalization of systems that diminish human dignity. In the AI age, this means questioning not only what our technologies can do, but what they are optimizing for and at whose expense.

The Seduction of Power: Pharaoh’s Hardened Heart

One of the most striking elements of the Exodus narrative is Pharaoh’s repeated refusal to change course. Even after witnessing devastation, he persists. His heart is described as “hardened”, a phrase that has sparked centuries of interpretation.

At one level, Pharaoh’s hardness reflects stubbornness. But at another, it reveals the way power distorts perception. When systems of power benefit us, we become less able, or less willing, to see their harm.

In the AI era, this lesson is........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)