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All 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.

Background: In Kenya, timely antenatal care, postnatal family planning, breastfeeding and maternal health literacy impact maternal and child health. mHealth interventions such as chatbots offer novel ways to address health literacy and other health determinants. A chatbot is a computer software that can simulate a human conversation. Identifying the feasibility of chatbots in Kenya for pregnancy support within Facebook’s social media platform is uncharted. To map the feasibility of a chatbot for pregnancy support, questions surrounding the current utilization of health resources and attitudes matter.

Methods: Phase 1 used focus group discussions (FGDs) to understand health resource usage, attitudes and preferences towards a chatbot application for pregnancy. Participant input was used to develop the chatbot in Phase 2. Phase 3 focused on the experience of those using the chatbot to inform feasibility and acceptability of the chatbot developed. Post-intervention we conducted FGDs and interviews, surveyed the sample and analyzed app usage data.

Results: Participants described unsatisfying relationships with health resources including health care providers. These experiences led to mistrust. Participants identified criteria that a chatbot for pregnancy support should have. After making these adaptations to the chatbot developed in Phase 2, the chatbot was tested during Phase 3. Results from Phase 3 indicate positive attitudes towards the chatbot experience and engagement.

Conclusions: The current context of Kenya regarding patient provider relationships, internet access and Facebook have proven beneficial for the feasibility of this innovation. Participant experiences were positive and relate to the use of Human Centered Design, Innovation Diffusion Theory and trust.

The public sphere as defined by the philosopher Jurgen Habermas is a discursive space, yet scholars also typically make mention of physical spaces tied to the public sphere. Sites such as the Grecian agora, the 18th century coffee house, or the New England meeting house, are often used as examples of public sphere space. These physical spaces are also evoked when theorizing the digital public sphere and online communication. The “digital town hall,” for example, was mentioned by Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, when discussing his vision for his social media platform. However, what is absent from these physical comparisons is a definition for public sphere space. What is the architecture of the public sphere? The need to define space of the public sphere has become more pressing than ever. As made evident by the 2016 United States presidential election, Zuckerberg’s social media tool did not provide a true public sphere. The public sphere is meant to bolster democracy by providing a space for citizens to discuss politics freely, but Facebook negatively impacted American democracy by allowing a foreign party to target Facebook users with politically focused advertisements. The contrast between the supposed design of this “digital town square” and it's impact demonstrates the need to define public sphere space. This thesis explores the architecture of various public sphere sites in order to materialize the public sphere and ground the communications model in the physical world. It will then focus on a virtual example of the public sphere in order to demonstrate how material boundaries of the public sphere can be translated to digital boundaries through information architecture and user experience design. This analysis will help to contextualize the social media tool Facebook and clarify why the design of Facebook prohibits it from becoming a “digital town square” or an effective public sphere space. The comparison between Facebook and other examples of spaces of the public sphere will point to solutions for designing virtual public sphere spaces in the contemporary digital age.