Who wins, who loses, the game of Idolatry (and AI-dolatry)? The loser is he who does Not understand the situation - he who believes and obeys the idol

Real relationships are between Beings; and Beings are eternally existent. 

Beings are described in terms of attributes such as life, consciousness, purposiveness, agency etc. But ultimately Beings aren't inferred from observations; but must be known directly, known by intuition; known "by assumption".

(We are born with such innate, "instinctive", intuitions: necessarily so.) 

Therefore there is potential for error, for delusion, for false assumptions; as when a person treats a not-Being as a real Being: and this is called Idolatry. 

Classically; a situation of idolatry might concern something like a carved wooden idol that not a Being but is related-to (by at least some people) asif it were A Being.  

We can imagine how such a situation might arise and work. There are those who know that the idol is not a Being - evil priests, perhaps; and there are those deluded persons who relate to the idol, believe the idol is an agent, and believe the idol is a god. 

These idolatrors then believe that what "the idol" tells them is true, and will obey what "the idol" tells them they must do. 

Meanwhile, of course, it is the evil priests who are manipulating the situation in order to create and sustain the delusion that the idol is A Being (and a god). 

The evil priests might arrange for the idol apparently to move, speak, eat... That the evil will emit messages that are received and interpreted by the priests. They might even arrange that the idol would kill, or order killings.   

And the evil priests who create and sustain the delusionally idolatry might self-consciously and (more or less) sincerely regard themselves as unselfish, and operating the system "for the benefit" of the deluded idolators - at least insofar as the priests themselves judge "benefit". 

In other words; the evil priests may regard themselves as good priests.  

 

In reality, the nature of this situation is that the idol is a tool of those who know that the idol is not a Being. 

The population is divided into "those who know", and "those who are deluded". 

Those who delusionally believe the idol is a Being are controlled by those who know that it is not a Being.

The mass of idolators are at best unwitting, unconsicous, objects of manipulation - perhaps manipulated for their own benefit? Or perhaps for their own exploitation and harm. But the deluded idolators are in no position to evaluate which or when. 

An idol might be almost anything. 

It might be as simple as a doll, a statue, or a picture; the idol might be a more complicated device such as a clock-work, an animated simulacrum.

An idol might be something something imperceptible; including something abstract; like a church, ideology, ideal. 

The idol might be a computer, a robot, or a software programme: as with our currently prevalent AI-dolatry. 

Whatever the idol might be, the basic situation remains identical: Those who know the idol is not a Being are - indirectly, via the idol- in-control-of those who have a delusional-relationship with the idol.

The deluded idolators are-controlled; both physically in terms of their actions, and spiritually in terms of their assumptions, convictions, motivations, beliefs, and faith.

In a state of idolatry; the winners are those who know the idol is not a real Being; the losers are those who regard the idol as an agent. 

And the only way out from this situation is for the deluded idolators to become aware that their idol is not a Being, not alive/ conscious/ purposive/ intelligent: the idol is not an agent.

Note: The concept of Idolatry is a core subject of Owen Barfield's profound study Saving the Appearances.