> Does this mean it's all been pointless?

Heh. When you're IQ is 10 million, it might be impossible to ignore that pointlessness.

> I don't think so, in fact I'd argue that our life is more meaningful than those in the past who were destined to live their life forever in their own little village, and never experienced anything new.

Heh. Those people are all our ancestors though too, and as such, it can be quite nice to feel a real sense of gratitude to those people. To me, that is the meaning, more than what I experience here and now with my limited body and lifespan.

I love The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius for an illustration of this. He was a 4th-5th century philosopher whom Bertrand Russell remarked "He would have been remarkable in any age, in the age in which he lived, he is utterly amazing." Worth a read, to say the least. The life story of Boethius is one of tragedy but that tragedy produced his greatest work that had tremendous impact on the history of civilization, even though its so obscure today.

Also... I think the AI is either going to be hyper nihilistic or find God. I don't see any other outcome really. Everything between those two I find to actually be incredibly irrational. I.e. a lot of existentialism to me has struck me as equally delusional as any accusation of religious delusion, but where what you get at the end of the day is considerably reduced. Part of me is like "either just accept nihilism, or be religious, the in between is like being religious without the benefits of religion... perhaps dumber than just being religious!"

Lmao... Full disclosure I am a former nihilist and technically agnostic believer. Though that agnosticism just seems like a technical trifle at this point.