The Artifice of Intelligence: Divine and Human Relationship in a Robotic Age

225 Pages·2023·1.924 MB·English

by  Noreen Herzfeld

NOREEN HER ZFELD
Foreword by Ted Peters
THE ARTIFICE
OF INTELLIGENCE
Divine and Human Relationship
in a Robotic Age
Praise for The Artifice of Intelligence
“The Artifice of Intelligence is powerful reading for everyone inter-
ested in the religious implications of AI, including those outside the
Christian fold. Herzfeld offers an enjoyable and clear explanation of
AI, followed by a state-of-the-art theological analysis from a Chris-
tian perspective. She challenges us to look deeply at who we are and
who we want to be, and reveals the importance of these tasks in the
development of technology.”
—Robert M. Geraci, author of Apocalyptic AI:
Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence,
and Virtual Reality and Futures of Artificial Intelligence:
Perspectives from India and the U.S.
“In this clearly written and comprehensive book, the author intro-
duces her readers to the whole gamut of applications of AI and their
accelerating pace of development. Her assessment of the risks and
benefits of AI takes its cues from Karl Barth’s relational theology,
weaving in broader anthropological issues of the risks of AI as a
means to gain political or economic control. Humanity is at risk
of being deluded by the very machines we have created, but at the
same time is offered the more hopeful possibility of partnership. A
compelling read that will be of great interest to students and min-
isters of religion.”
—Celia Deane-Drummond, director, Laudato Si’ Research
Institute, and Senior Research Fellow in Theology,
Campion Hall, University of Oxford; author of
Shadow Sophia: Evolution of Wisdom, Volume II
“Noreen Herzfeld has written an important book that impels us to
consider why we pursue humanoid robots and artificial intelligence.
Her discussion takes us through various levels of computer devel-
opment and human personhood, but most important, she draws
an intimate connection between a religious understanding of the
human person and AI. This is a thoughtful book that asks us to
consider the sacredness of the human person in a culture addicted
to technology. What are we becoming with AI? More so, who deter-
mines our future? This is a book to be read for its wealth of schol-
arship but also as a meditative reflection, for it asks us to pause and
consider what we are as humans and what we desire for our future.”
—Ilia Delio, OSF, Josephine C. Connelly Endowed
Chair in Theology, Villanova University
“Continuing to show her position as a leading scholar in the field of
theology and AI, Herzfeld here provides a sharp and sober take on
the technologies that are already transforming our lives. She con-
sults a wide and impressive range of disciplines to cut across much
of the hype around AI, relating Barth’s and Buber’s wisdom to a
world infatuated with this technology. This book will be import-
ant reading for anyone reflecting on what it is for us to be human
alongside machines that are, in various ways, in our image.”
—Scott Midson, lecturer in liberal arts,
University of Manchester
“What Noreen Herzfeld has written here is not just a work of intel-
ligence, but a work of wisdom. It considers AI specifically, and tech-
nology more generally, and their interplay with us as human beings
created by God. This is a profound book that I will read more than
once.”
—Brian Patrick Green, director of technology ethics,
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics,
Santa Clara University
“There are few questions as pressing to the modern world as those
of artificial intelligence. What is it? How does it affect humanity?
How should it affect humanity? What ethical considerations should
guide our approach to AI, and what should this mean for people of
faith? Noreen Herzfeld’s The Artifice of Intelligence brilliantly weaves
together questions of faith, ethics, technology, and intelligence in a
book that should be considered essential reading for anyone wish-
ing to take seriously the value of humanity in an increasingly digital
world. This book reminds us of what it means to be human, how to
be in relationship with one another, and whether such relationships
can or should extend to technology. A wonderful, incisive, and nec-
essary book for the present and future.”
—John P. Slattery, Director, Carl G. Grefenstette
Center for Ethics in Science, Technology,
and Law, Duquesne University

THE ARTIFICE
OF INTELLIGENCE

THE ARTIFICE
OF INTELLIGENCE
Divine and Human Relationship
in a Robotic Age
NOREEN HERZFELD
Foreword by Ted Peters
Fortress Press
Minneapolis
THE ARTIFICE OF INTELLIGENCE
Divine and Human Relationship in a Robotic Age
Copyright © 2023 Fortress Press, an imprint of 1517 Media. All rights
reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part
of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written
permission from the publisher. Email [email protected] or write
Permissions, Fortress Press, PO Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440-1209.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised
Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of
Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the USA and used by permission. All rights reserved.
Portions of chapter 3 have been previously published as “Do We Image God
On-line? The Opportunities and Challenges for Authentic Relationships in
Cyberspace,” Theology and Sexuality, Summer 2019. Used by permission.
Portions of chapter 4 have been previously published as “Can Lethal
Autonomous Weapons Be Just?” Journal of Moral Theology, Summer 2022.
Used by permission.
Portions of chapter 5 have been previously published in “Religious
Perspectives on Sex with Robots,” in Robot Sex: Social and Ethical Implications,
eds. Danaher and McArthur, MIT Press, 2017. Used by permission.
Portions of chapter 6 have been published as “Ghosts or Zombies: On Keeping
Body and Soul Together,” Religious Transhumanism and Its Critics, eds. Gouw,
Peters, and Green, Lexington, 2022, and “Where Is Everybody? Fermi’s
Paradox, Evolution, and Sin,” Theology and Science, August 2019.
Used by permission.
Cover Design: LUCAS Art & Design
Cover Art: Aideal Hwa / Unsplash
Print ISBN: 978-1-5064-8690-1
eBook ISBN: 978-1-5064-8691-8
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vii
FOREWORD BY TED PETERS ix
1 WHAT IS AI? WHAT WILL IT BECOME? 1
2 DO WE NEED BODIES? 27
3 DO YOU HEAR ME, ALEXA? 49
4 AI, AGENCY, AND AUTONOMY 73
5 AI, FREE WILL, AND EMOTION 103
6 THE DREAMS OF REASON 131
7 AN EMBODIED FAITH 159
REFERENCES 183
INDEX 205