{"id":39893,"date":"2025-01-21T10:00:58","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T18:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=39893"},"modified":"2025-01-20T12:31:25","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T20:31:25","slug":"lest-we-become-robot-souls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/lest-we-become-robot-souls\/","title":{"rendered":"Lest We Become Robot Souls"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In a podcast interview, author and academic Eve Poole talks about taking her children to the beach and watching them dig holes and build castles in the sand, which children have done for thousands of years. She hears their laughter as the water comes swooshing over their feet. She begins to lament that such an activity may not continue in years to come because of artificial intelligence (AI) and the creation of robots\u2014robots don’t need childhood.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

Eve Pool is a philosopher and ethicist focusing on leadership, ethics, and moral philosophy. Having received numerous awards and credentials, she is a leading expert on what it means to be human in a world striving to automate humanity.<\/p>\n

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visited him? \u2013 Psalm 8:3-4[2]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Bible says that God made humans in His image and that every soul has worth and a purpose. Man’s quest to perfect itself is nothing new and has been around for years. Hitler’s pursuit of the perfect Aryan race led to policies that persecuted and exterminated people he considered to be inferior.[3]<\/a> Eugenics was practiced in the U.S. during the 1930s through forced sterilizations and restrictive immigration and marriage policies.[4]<\/a> While no federal law prevents these practices, many states have enacted policies to eliminate them. Still, the legacy of eugenics continues to shape conversations about ethics, genetics, and personal rights.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

Part of being human involves having a conscience and a learned set of guiding ethics, which Poole contends are lacking in AI programming. This gap is the crux of the thesis in her book Robot Souls<\/em>: “Because consciousness without a conscience is a psychopath.”[6]<\/a> She refers to a key concept throughout the text: “junk codes.” “In computer programming, junk code is redundant code that could be deleted or rewritten in shorter syntax without affecting the executions of the program.”[7]<\/a> However, in humans, it is what “Makes us human and promotes the kind of reciprocal altruism that keeps humanity alive and thriving.”[8]<\/a> For Poole, junk code includes things such as emotions, our ability to make mistakes and learn from them over time\u2014or not, the powerful ability to relate through storytelling, intuition, the means to cope with uncertainty, and the use of free will to shape ourselves to create purpose in the world around us.<\/p>\n

I spoke last night with a friend who teaches science and engineering at a local community college. She doesn’t see AI as a threat to humanity, believing it will never perform tasks related to human consciousness. She called it a glorified database to find keywords and play games like chess. Another friend argued that current developments aren’t true AI until they can learn and create new information as humans do.<\/p>\n

I believe AI will eventually be able to perform logical tasks, but humans will still need to interpret and verify its accuracy in areas like medical scans. However, machine learning may surpass human intelligence in fields such as military intervention, posing potential safety risks. In all cases, AI will lack the intrinsic nuances of personhood that Poole discusses in her book.<\/p>\n

While I cannot control the development of AI, I can continue to promote the growth of qualities that make us better humans, many of which are fostered through the character development and critical thinking of a liberal arts education. Liberal arts, encompassing humanities, religion, arts, and sciences, also includes leadership development, which is gaining ground in U.S. universities. Still, while leadership programs are growing, liberal studies courses are being reduced or eliminated, replaced by the rising demand for STEM education as technology becomes more integrated into daily life and workplaces, especially as companies automate to cut labor costs and boost profits.<\/p>\n

There is much to be said on the subject; however, I defer to the argument favoring liberal studies made by Patrick Deneen in his book Why Liberalism Failed. <\/em>He contends, “In the absence of a persuasive counternarrative, students, parents, and administrators believe that the best route to achieving the liberal conception of freedom is not in the humanities but elsewhere. However, the humanities of the old would be able to muster a powerful argument against [consumerism, which leads to] the end path of liberation and ultimately enslavement.”[9]<\/a> I propose that schools and corporate America begin to reduce their focus on STEM education and reinvigorate the liberal arts and humanities. Reprioritize the cultivation of junk code found in humanities, emotional intelligence, free will, critical thinking, ethics, and more. Lest we, too, become robot souls.<\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> Poole, Eve. \u201cWhat Is Distinctive About Being Human?\u201d Video. Examined Life Podcast<\/em>. Last modified June 6, 2024. Accessed January 11, 2025. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wW4X-VBC5e8.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> \u201cBible Gateway Passage: Psalm 8:3-4 – New King James Version.\u201d Bible Gateway<\/em>. Accessed January 12, 2025. https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Psalm%208%3A3-4&version=NKJV.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Arendt, Hannah. The Origins of Totalitarianism<\/em>. First Mariner Classics edition. New York: Mariner Classics, 2024.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Black, Edwin. War against the Weak: Eugenics and America\u2019s Campaign to Create a Master Race<\/em>. 2. paperback ed., Expanded ed. Washington, DC: Dialog Press, 2012.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> \u201cThe Eugenics Crusade | American Experience | PBS.\u201d Accessed January 12, 2025. https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wgbh\/americanexperience\/films\/eugenics-crusade\/.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Poole, Eve. Robot Souls: Programming in Humanity<\/em>. First edition. Boca Raton London New York: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2024. P. 103<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Ibid. P.74.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Ibid. P.i<\/p>\n

<\/a>\u00a0[9] Deneen, Patrick J., James Davison Hunter, and John M. Owen. Why Liberalism Failed<\/em>. Paperback edition. New Haven London: Yale University Press, 2018. P.125.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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