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| Rise of the Machines: New Book Applies Christian Ethics to the Future of AI Illustration by Rick Szuecs Photo: Andriy Onufriyenko / Getty / Ashton Bingham / Unsplash |
Once
viewed as the stuff of science fiction, artificial intelligence (AI) is
steadily making inroads into our everyday lives—from our social media
feeds to digital assistants like Siri and Alexa. As helpful as AI is for
many aspects of our lives, it also raises a number of challenging moral
and spiritual questions. Facial recognition can be used to locate
fugitive criminals, but also to suppress political dissidents. Various
apps and platforms can anticipate our preferences, but also harvest data
that invades our privacy. Technology can speed healing, but many are
hoping to use it to enhance natural human abilities or eliminate
“undesirable” emotions.
In his recent book 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity,
Oxford professor emeritus John Lennox surveys the current and future
landscape of AI and addresses these and related issues. Lennox is a
mathematician who has spoken internationally on the philosophy of
science, written books addressing the limits of science, and debated
high profile atheists Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. In the
new book, he acknowledges the many benefits AI can offer, but he also
critiques the worldview that lies behind many secular visions of AI that
seek to transform humans into gods and create utopias through
technology.
Christopher Reese spoke with Lennox about his book and
how Christians should think about a number of issues related to this
rapidly accelerating technology, including “upgrading” humans, whether
computers can become conscious, and how Christians should weigh the pros
and cons of AI.
Recommended Reading
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| 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity |
Source: ChristianityToday.com
