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What is the relationship between artificial intelligence, robots, and theology? The connections are much closer than one might think. There is a deep spiritual longing in the world of AI and robotics. Technology is a prayer; it reveals the depth of our eschatology. Through the study of AI and robotic literature one can see a clear desire to both transcend human limitations and overcome the fallenness of human nature. The questions of ethics, power, and responsibility are not new to Christian anthropology. This book will introduce and examine some of the major ethical issues surrounding current AI and robotic technology from a theological and philosophical lens. In the study of AI and robot ethics, the Christian community has a chance to join the global efforts to build technology for good. Will we join them?
The last decade has seen dramatic advances in artificial intelligence and robotics technology, raising tough questions that need to be addressed. The Robot Will See You Now considers how Christians can respond to these issues - and flourish - in the years ahead. Contributions from a number of international experts, including editors John Wyatt and Stephen Williams, explore a range of social and ethical issues raised by recent advances in AI and robotics. Considering the role of artificial intelligence in areas such as medicine, employment and security, the book looks at how AI is perceived as well as its actual impact on human interactions and relationships. Alongside are theological responses from an orthodox Christian perspective. Looking at how artificial intelligence and robotics may be considered in the light of Christian doctrine, The Robot Will See You Now offers a measured, thoughtful view on how Christians can understand and prepare for the challenges posted by the development of AI. This is a book for anyone who is interested in learning more about how AI and robots have advanced in recent years, and anyone who has wondered how Christian teaching relates to artificial intelligence. Whatever your level of technical knowledge, The Robot Will See You Now will give you a thorough understanding of AI and equip you to respond to the challenges it poses with confidence and faith.
This book offers a phenomenological perspective on the criminal law debate on robots. Today, robots are protected in some form by criminal law. A robot is a person’s property and is protected as property. This book presents the different rationale for protecting robots beyond the property justification based on the phenomenology of human-robot interactions. By focusing on robots that have bodies and act in the physical world in social contexts, the work provides an assessment of the issues that emerge from human interaction with robots, going beyond perspectives focused solely on artificial intelligence (AI). Here, a phenomenological approach does not replace ontological concerns, but complements them. The book addresses the following key areas: Regulation of robots and AI; Ethics of AI and robotics; and philosophy of criminal law. It will be of interest to researchers and academics working in the areas of Criminal Law, Technology and Law and Legal Philosophy.
Appropriating insights from empirical findings and theoretical constructs of 'embodied cognition', this study explores how theological understanding is accommodated to the bodily nature of human cognition. The principle of divine accommodation provides a theological framework for considering the human cognitive capacities that are accommodated by theological concepts and ecclesial practices. A rich portrait of the nature of human cognitive capacities is drawn from an emerging paradigm in cognitive science, embodied cognition, which proposes that cognition depends upon bodily sensorimotor systems to ground concepts and to draw upon environmental resources. Embodied cognition's hypothesis that human concepts are grounded in sensorimotor states poses a theological quandary for God-concepts, since identifying God with sensorimotor content risks idolatry. The incarnation resolves this problem in theological epistemology by grounding God-concepts in bodily understanding, while avoiding idolatry. Thus, the incarnation represents an accommodation to human conceptual capacities. Embodied cognition further hypothesises that cognition relies on sensorimotor engagement with the world rather than internal mental representations. Subsequently, in addition to the brain, bodily states and environmental artefacts 'scaffold' cognitive processes. A scaffolded view of cognition highlights the cognitive import of embodied religious practices, which choregraph the body and curate material culture. Tobias Tanton applies dozens of studies identifying mechanisms by which bodily or environmental factors influence cognition to the embodied and material dimensions Christian practices. On account of their inherent cognitive effects, practices are theorised to have intrinsic 'embodied' meanings alongside 'symbolic' ones established by conventions. Consequently, liturgy is seen as a bearer of theological content rather than merely an expression of it; a locus of religious experience; and a crucial determinate of religious and ethical formation. Again, the embodied nature of Christian liturgy is understood in terms of accommodation. Embodied cognition research helpfully illuminates the details of human embodiment to which theological understanding must be accommodated.
The subject of social robotics has enormous projected economic significance. However, social robots not only present us with novel opportunities but also with novel risks that go far beyond safety issues. It is a potentially highly disruptive technology which could negatively affect the most valuable parts of the fabric of human social interactions in irreparable ways. Since engineering educations do not yet offer the necessary competences to analyze, holistically assess, and constructively mitigate these risks, new alliances must be established between engineering and SSH disciplines, with special emphasis on the humanities (i.e. disciplines specializing in the analysis of socio-cultural interactions and human experience). The Robophilosophy Conference Series was established in 2014 with the purpose of creating a new forum and catalyzing the research discussion in this important area of applied humanities research, with focus on robophilosophy. Robophilosophy conferences have been the world’s largest venues for humanities research in and on social robotics. The book at hand presents the proceedings of Robophilosophy Conference 2020: Culturally Sustainable Social Robotics, the fourth event in the international, biennial Robophilosophy Conference Series, which brought together close to 400 participants from 29 countries. The speakers of the conference, whose contributions are collected in this volume, were invited to offer concrete proposals for how the Humanities can help to shape a future where social robotics is guided by the goals of enhancing socio-cultural values rather than by utility alone. The book is divided into 3 parts; Abstracts of Plenaries, which contains 6 plenary sessions; Session Papers, with 44 papers under 8 thematic categories; and Workshops, containing 25 items on 5 selected topics. Providing concrete proposals from philosophers and other SSH researchers for new models and methods, this book will be of interest to all those involved in developing artificial ‘social’ agents in a culturally sustainable way that is also – a fortiori – ethically responsible.
In particular, Donna Haraway argued in her famous 1991 'Cyborg Manifesto' that people, since they are so often now detached and separated from nature, have themselves evolved into cyborgs. This striking idea has had considerable influence within critical theory, cultural studies and even science fiction (where it has surfaced, for example, in the Terminator films and in the Borg of the Star Trek franchise). But it is a notion that has had much less currency in theology. In his innovative new book, Scott Midson boldly argues that the deeper nuances of Haraway's and the cyborg idea can similarly rejuvenate theology, mythology and anthropology. Challenging the damaging anthropocentrism directed towards nature and the non-human in our society, the author reveals - through an imaginative reading of the myth of Eden - how it is now possible for humanity to be at one with the natural world even as it vigorously pursues novel, 'post-human', technologies.
Robotic Persons will introduce the evangelical community to the journey of Robotic Futurism and how current and forthcoming AI-driven robots will impact human value and dignity. This book will consider three key areas of robotic development and the existential risks on the horizon for humans in the fields of work, war, and sex. There are risks in the fields of work, because there is a temptation to replace human workers with automation. Current arguments for the benefit of war fighting robots posit that these robots will eliminate war and the risk of war, but there is much more to the story. Arguments for sex and companion robots proffer that they will benefit the fringe community or help those who do not have a relative to care for them, but again there are many ethical and philosophical problems with these arguments. Robotic Persons not only introduces the reader to these issues, but also gives an evangelical response to each. There is presently no evangelical work addressing these critical issues. Robotic Persons will argue that granting legal personhood to qualified robots will further prevent dehumanizing use of robots and protect human dignity and value.
A professional newspaperman, Clifford Donald Simak was a major figure both in and beyond the ‘Golden Age’ of science fiction. Active for more than fifty years, he published some 140 short stories and (depending on how you count) at least 27 novels. The many Awards he received – three Hugos, a Nebula, a Jupiter, a Locus, an Analog, and an International Fantasy Award – to say nothing of many nominations, show that his contemporaries recognised his qualities. It is no surprise that the Science Fiction Writers of America elected him as their third SWFA Grand Master. This book considers what he achieved. CDS grew up in Grant County, Wisconsin, just south of where the Wisconsin flows into the Mississippi. Many of his tales reflect the ‘Simak country’ of his youth, regularly drawing on the characteristics of the residents of that area. They are high value entertainment. Some are extremely amusing. Others lead you on to explore many ideas: what does it mean to be sentient, to be human, how should/can we cope with technology, has life a purpose, and if so what, and, what about aliens? Francis Lyall, a retired academic lawyer, has been enjoying Simak stories since he was a teenager. Preface 5 Introduction 8 Chapter I Clifford Donald Simak 15 Chapter II Simak Country 40 Chapter III Trees and Houses 68 1. Trees 68 2. Houses 72 Chapter IV Simak Folk 79 1. General 79 2. Dogs 85 3. Names 86 Chapter V Androids, Robots, Aliens and Others 101 1. Androids 101 2. Robots 103 3. Aliens and Others 113 Chapter VI Gadgets, Gates et al. 125 1. Technology 125 2. Time Travel 128 3. Other Worlds 130 4. Parallel and Alternate Worlds 131 5. Access to Worlds: Machines 134 6. Gates and Doors 134 7. Roads and Tunnels 135 8. Other Artificial Aids 135 9. Equations and Longing 136 Chapter VII Of Man 139 1. Mental Powers 139 2. Knowledge and Education 142 3. Multiple Minds 147 4. Mind-swap 148 5. Telepathy and Parakinesis 150 6. Symbiotes 150 Chapter VIII Mysticism and Mistiness 153 1. Dark Tales 153 2. Controllers 157 3. Purpose 158 4. Creator? 159 5. A Journey? 160 6. Helpers and Monitors 164 7. Faith and Truth 169 8. Ethics: Life: Caring 173 Chapter IX An Evaluation 180
“I love my robot lawn mowers, my laptop, wifi, Google, Facetime, Whatsapp and the possibility of drone postal deliveries and more.. Yet worries nag about being overwhelmed by an artificial intelligence revolution whose ethical and moral parameters are less clear than its rampant profiteering from and monetising of your lives and mine. This hugely informative book shakes us out of our massage armchairs and demands that we engage immediately with these galloping advances so we can shape them to the benefit of the many and not leave them to the enrichment of the few at the awful cost of the impoverishment of swathes of humanity”. Mary McAleese, former President of Ireland. "Robots, Ethics and The Future of Jobs is a wakeup call for political, civic, media and church leaders, urging a response to the deepening and accelerating pace of technological change and its potential consequences. Artificial Intelligence, robotics, drones, the internet of things and 3D printing are the building blocks of the 4th industrial revolution. These technologies offer great potential but also carry real risks and are reaching into every corner of our lives, civilian and military. Who will win and who will lose? Who will set the rules and the ethical boundaries within which they should develop and operate? Will the displaced be included, if so, how; or ignored and, if so, with what political, social and economic consequences? That these questions cannot be avoided and should not be postponed - and that we do not need to wait for change to happen because it is already upon us - are central messages of this thought provoking text." Pat Cox, former President European Parliament.
The Naked Android: Synthetic Socialness and the Human Gaze illuminates the connection between the stories people tell, their expectations of what a robot is, and how these beliefs and values manifest in how real robots are designed and used. The introduction of the “human gaze” articulates how peoples’ expectations and perceptions about robots are ultimately based on deeply personal cultural interpretations of what is artificial or human and what problems social robots should –or should not –solve. The Naked Android clarifies how human qualities like understanding and desire are designed into robots as mediums as well as projected onto them by the people who live with them. By investigating the fluidity of identities across human culture and social robotics, this book unpacks the contextual complexities of their interactions and mutual influences. Using ethnographic methods including in-depth interviews with a variety of stakeholders, each chapter explores how people are designing social robots, the experience of living with robots, and people whose jobs it is to dream about a future integrated with robots. Key Features: Introduces the concept of the “human gaze” (and the “robot gaze”) as means of understanding how people live with robots. Each chapter includes in-depth interviews with people who make, live with, or create art about robots. Using ethnographic methods, paints a vivid description of the interconnecting influences of science fiction, human imagination, and real technology.