Navigation the Future
Foreword
Artificial Intelligence is the transformational technology of our era – the first tool in history that can seemingly create new ideas and make decisions on its own. Non-human intelligence can now perform complex tasks better than most humans – writing creative essays, discovering new drugs, or driving a car. This technology has the power to transform society, for good or for bad. AI’s ability to simulate human behaviour holds a mirror up to the human soul, and reawakens ancient questions about human identity and purpose – questions that religion has been seeking to address since the dawn of human existence. What does this mean for humanity? Can AI be a force for good for human flourishing, or will superintelligent AI result in the marginalisation of some or even all humans? What kind of relationship should humanity have with AI, and what implications does this have for religion?
The purpose of this handbook is to provide some context on AI to enable the exploration of this relationship between AI, ethics, and faith, with examples of how diverse faith perspectives are important to help shape the future of AI. For this reason, this handbook specifically draws on insights from the diverse range of speakers and discussions held at the “AI, Faith and the Future of Society” event at the UK parliament in June 2023.
AI ethics is of vital importance to the future of human society, culture and religion in the 21st century. There are no absolute, clear answers to how to proceed, but what is clear is that people of faith need to be actively engaged in the debate about the future of AI: a debate which goes to the heart of understanding what it means to be human, and the virtues and values which bind us together.
Graham Budd
Executive Director, The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion