Browsing by Author "Wells, Samuel M"
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Item Embargo Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Supra-Intelligence(2020) Kasbe, Timothy DAll things were created by Him and for Him:
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Supra-Intelligence
Fascination with automation has captured the human imagination for thousands of years. As far back as 800 CE, when Baghdad was at its height as one of the world’s most cultured cities, its House of Wisdom produced a remarkable text, “The Book of Ingenious Devices.” In it were beautiful schematic drawings of machines years ahead of anything in Europe—clocks, hydraulic instruments, even a water-powered organ with swappable pin-cylinders that was effectively a programmable device.
The fascination with automation has come a long way since then. Technological advancements in the last seventy years have provided unprecedented opportunities for humans to explore not only automation, but now also the creation of intelligent and superintelligent machines. These machines promise to mimic human qualities and even supersede humanity in every manner of task and intelligence. The explosion of, and ready access to, information through the internet has proved to be challenging in some regards but has also eased other aspects of life. An example of this would be the way long-lost friends can be reunited through the click of a mouse. Similarly, news accompanied by pictures and videos is now readily available in real-time. These conveniences have also brought unintended consequences. Despite this newfound connectivity, social challenges such as loneliness and suicide are on the rise. Technology has also opened the door to problems such as cyberbullying, election manipulation, and fake news. Information, whether it be accurate or not, spreads across the world at unprecedented speeds, carrying with it change, sometimes for the better, but not always. This is all happening before the anticipated age of superintelligence.
This thesis examines the distinct nature of humanity and God in view of the emergence of superintelligence. Can we see this “new creation” as an addition to God’s creation of humans, angels, and Satan? If that be the case, then questions of ethics and theology need to be addressed. For instance, who gets to program these new superintelligent “beings?” As things stand today, the individuals and corporations with the deepest pockets are racing to be the first to produce superintelligent beings. The so-called “technology horse” has already bolted, with government policy struggling to keep up. Unseen in this race is the prophetic and ethical voice of the church, regarding the meaning of life, and what living in this new reality will look like.
More questions are raised than can be answered in this paper. How does the Church stay true to its message of hope in a world where robots will likely take over everyday jobs? Where will humanity find meaning and contentment? What are we to think about the idea of a basic universal wage? How will such a shift impact migrant and the poor? In this paper I establish a framework for the church to consider different aspects of these challenges, even as people are welcomed weekly into the community of faith.
This thesis represents extensive research into the philosophy and practice of safety engineering, paired with personal experiences as a professional in the technology industry who is also deeply committed to being a disciple of Christ. Primary works I have drawn from extensively include Hauerwas and Wells’ Blackwell Companion to Christian Ethics, and Jungian archetypes in comparing and contrasting biological beings to technological creations. The paper starts with creation accounts from Genesis and the Enuma Elish as a way of exploring the “being” category as it appears on this planet. Personal insights gained working in both enterprise and startup businesses, as well as in my own professional development, have contributed to this work and may be found throughout. This thesis represents a labor of love through which I have learned a great deal about my own profession and faith. However, it is my sincere hope that it will be much more. Through this dissertation I hope to see companies both big and small taking note of the ethical issues discussed here, even as they find themselves unleashing artificial intelligence in the marketplace. At the same time, I expect churches and religious organizations will benefit from this discussion and will, I hope, move to engage more deeply with culture and the marketplace as new opportunities and risks emerge from the implementation of artificial intelligence. If the observations that I have made and the recommendations that I have set forth can inspire even one person to carefully examine his or her identity in Christ, then this work will be successful beyond its original purpose as an academic work.
Item Open Access Pilgrim Holiness: Martyrdom as Descriptive Witness(2008-06-05T20:36:35Z) Whitfield, Joshua JairMartyrdom, as an explicitly christological witness, offers limited but vital description within the various and unpredictable arenas of living, suffering and death. That is, martyrdom is not the tragic conclusion of some fatal idée fixe but a momentary truthful glimpse of present circumstances. Martyrdom is something which reveals, clarifies and illumines what we take for the real. The martyrs are significant for the church today because they exhibit that sort of truthful living which refuses the claims of history and power without Christ and which show the sort of living and dying that returns forgiveness upon murder and patience beyond domination.Item Open Access Re-Membering Redemption: Bearing Witness to the Transformation of Suffering(2012) Makant, MindyMy subject is the redemption of profound suffering. I begin with the presumption that there is no suffering beyond the redemptive reach of God's grace. Drawing on insights from a number of academic disciplines, as well as on a wide variety of literary accounts of profound suffering, I consider the impact of the suffering of interpersonal violence on the formation of individual identity. I frame identity-formation in temporal terms, considering the impact of suffering in each temporal dimension: past, present, and future. In considering the past, I focus on the nature of memory, and argue that the memory of suffering resides in the body, soul, and mind, continually shaping the individual, and that a theological account of memory, therefore, cannot be reduced to cognitive recall. I also suggest that the integrity of the memory of suffering is often a casualty of suffering. In considering the present, I turn to an account of community which I argue is, likewise, an integral element of individual identity. I show the ways in which suffering, and the memory of suffering, continues to isolate those who have suffered. Next, I consider the future, and suggest that the anticipation of the future shapes both the memory of the past and the experience of the present. The memory of past suffering, I argue, threatens to obliterate the future in a way that can be devastating to present identity. I suggest that all three temporal dimensions are not only integral to identity but also embedded within one another. And I argue that, in light of the formative nature of suffering, the redemption of the individual necessarily includes the redemption of each temporal dimension. I suggest that there are specific ecclesial practices which develop habits of right vision, making this redemption evident such that the profound suffering of the past can be re-membered as a witness to God's redemption.