{"id":34982,"date":"2024-01-18T06:44:53","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T14:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=34982"},"modified":"2024-01-18T13:20:49","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T21:20:49","slug":"is-ai-being-created-in-the-image-of-man-or-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/is-ai-being-created-in-the-image-of-man-or-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Is AI being created in the image of man or God?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am a bit chagrined to admit that I haven\u2019t given AI much thought. I am not the most technologically minded person. I find the concepts of AI hard to grasp. My understanding is limited to what I have been exposed to through our reading last semester, the very helpful Zoom session last week with Dr. Mario Hood on the academic uses of ChatGPT4, and now Eve Poole\u2019s book, Robot Souls: Programming in Humanity.<\/em> My most recent exposure to the possibility of AI ruling the world comes via, The Mitchells vs. The Machines. <\/em>The animated movie was a favorite two summers ago when my grandchildren came for a visit. I read Poole\u2019s book with the voice of Olivia Colman coming to mind, though in a much kinder Queen\u2019s English.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I was surprised to read familiar names in the context of AI from the fields of psychology, philosophy, and religion. Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, Daniel Goleman, Viktor Frankl, Rene Descartes, and David Hume came right along-side ancient thinkers and theologians like Plato, Aristotle, and St. Augustine. Adding scientists, authors, poets, and playwrights like Charles Darwin, Lewis Carroll, John Keats, and William Shakespeare to the mix, and a plethora of unfamiliar computer scientists gave a well-rounded introduction to the ethical and practical implications of AI. It was connecting AI to the analogy of the soul, referencing the Bible, and our Judeo-Christian concepts of God which intrigued and inspired me the most. Christians should be involved in AI discussion points. It is encouraging that Eve Poole is looking through the lens of soul to understand the benefits of programming human qualities into AI. Ultimately, her writing beckons me to attend to my soul, my relationships with others, and to God.<\/p>\n

Reading Robot Souls <\/em>has raised more questions than answers. Eve Poole\u2019s thinking process is brilliant. The connections she makes are incredible! The ideas she presents worthy of deep consideration. I am impressed and admittedly struggling to make sense of it all. There were times when I was not sure I was reading about AI or my own soul. That is where my questions began forming. \u00a0What follows are the musings of my not so brilliant yet curious mind and my sensitive soul.<\/p>\n

You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of anything in the heavens above or the earth below\u2026 Exodus 20:4<\/p>\n

I have mixed feelings about being at the place of discussing how to program soul-like qualities into AI powered devices designed to make our lives easier. What are the implications for programming AI regarding values, morals, and ethics when we aren\u2019t doing such a great job of defining them for ourselves? Though many people hold to universal ideals we don\u2019t all agree on the value and dignity of human life. As Francis Fukuyama pointed out, \u201cWe need, in other words, a better theory of the human soul.\u201d[1]<\/a> Poole defined soul as, \u201cthe idea that we possess an ineffable spirit or vital spark that feels life giving.\u201d[2]<\/a> Who will design, create, and regulate the soul of AI? Are we taking for granted our unique design and creating AI in our image? If we create AI in our own image, are we not responsible to parent and nurture that which we have created? I think that is Poole\u2019s point.<\/p>\n

Poole explains that in computer programming junk code, which is redundant or dead code, might be mined for greater depth and potential in AI.[3]<\/a> She proposes that conceptualizing junk code as soul and considers how failing to program it into to AI might be a mistake.[4]<\/a> Poole identifies six human characteristics representing soul which have intentionally not been coded into AI: emotions, mistakes, story-telling, sixth sense, uncertainty, free will, and meaning.[5]<\/a> All are important pieces of what makes us human. My own junk code needs continual attention. It is amazing how the human brain can think about itself, learn, and make adjustments. Will AI be programmed to do the same? Mistakes will inevitably be made. What is our responsibility to correct them?<\/p>\n

I was momentarily relieved when Poole stated, \u201c\u2026 it is not currently possible to code for soul or for consciousness, given the lack of agreement on definitions, and on whether either are codifiable categories\u201c confirming there is no global agreement on what that conscious might entail.[6]<\/a> However, she opens the door for the possibility and a big question on how agreement with such high-stakes implications can be achieved. In his presentation on AI in educational assessments, David Boud warned of biases and misinformation.[7]<\/a> Will coding AI with soul and consciousness correct or complicate these concerns?<\/p>\n

You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3<\/p>\n

Is AI yet another idol that ensnares us? Why do we need AI? I have to wonder if we humans just want easier and less complicated lives. Will AI accomplish that goal? Is AI capable of making us better, smarter, more ethical, loving, and less stressed human beings? With our infatuation with technology, compulsive attraction to screens, propensity to be entertained, and drive to create are we in danger of harming our own souls and becoming less human? Is AI an attempt to create a God in our own image, a being we can rely upon when we can\u2019t rely on ourselves? Or is it possible that AI will move us to fully embrace the gift of our humanity? When all is said and done, I would rather spend time with real people than a robot with a soul and with God who created me in His image, loves me, and knows me. That is a mind-blowing reality far more exciting than AI!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Francis Fukuyama, Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment <\/em>(New York: Picador, 2018), 11.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Eve Poole, Robot Souls: Programming in Humanity<\/em> (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2024), 146.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Poole, Robot Souls, <\/em>74.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid., 124.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid., 142.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Ibid., 115.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> David Boud, Assessment AI, 27032023.mp4.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am a bit chagrined to admit that I haven\u2019t given AI much thought. I am not the most technologically minded person. I find the concepts of AI hard to grasp. My understanding is limited to what I have been exposed to through our reading last semester, the very helpful Zoom session last week with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":184,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2310,1],"tags":[2616],"class_list":["post-34982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-of-leadership-3","category-uncategorized","tag-dlgp02-poole","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34982"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34982\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35026,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34982\/revisions\/35026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}