Human Rights in Africa: Cross-Cultural Perspectives

Encountering Artificial Intelligence: Ethical and Anthropological Investigations

“…19 Nevertheless, the wisdom of the First Vatican Council's Dei Filius held back both popes and congregations from any official condemnation of evolution. Indeed, it is because of this inherent openness that Pope Pius XII felt compelled to initiate a formal discussion of evolutionary theory with his encyclical Humani Generis in 1951; it is because of this inherent openness that the Second Vatican Council even more forcefully declared the Church a friend of the sciences; it is because of this inherent openness that the Church today laments its own earlier silencing of Galileo and other supporters of good science; 20 and it is because of this inherent openness that Popes including Saint John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis have embraced, time and time again, the beauty, truth, and hope of science and technology.…”

“…19 Critics point out that human rights emerged primarily within the Western political and legal tradition and so enumerated rights might not be as universal as proponents claim. 20 Additionally, like principles, human rights might be too abstract or general to provide sufficient guidelines for action or regulation, and often are left unenforced. Because human rights typically are understood as offering individuals protections from the state, such an approach also might be limited in instances where harms from AI are propagated by private companies.…”

“…18 Resources within the Christian tradition's understanding of personhood, offered in dialogue with current efforts from outside the Christian tradition, can yield insights to the field that "counteract the kind of dualism" 19 that "can emerge in a lot of thinking on AI." 20 In this section of the volume we ask: What is the theological basis for understanding our own relationality? What effect will AI have on our relationships?…”

“…Crucially, while Danaher allows that it may turn out to be metaphysically impossible for a robot to have conscious dispositions at all, he denies the relevance of the objection that the presence of conscious dispositions is necessary for the robot's "outward performances" to be "count[ed] as authentic." 20 For, as we earlier stated, when we evaluate whether the friendship-conditions of mutuality (true, intentional goodwill) and authenticity (presenting ourselves as we are) have been met on the part of some friend-behaving agent, he urges that we must apply to robots the same behavioral standard that we apply to humans and animals.…”

“…19 Paul declares the sanctity of the body, stating that we carry "in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies." 20 Christians recognize the trials of bodily life, its vulnerability, and the experience of disintegration, but always they emphasize the fundamental and final unity of body and soul, and the body's share in eternal life. While at times the body may be unruly, it is not an obstacle to be overcome or discarded, but an intrinsic part of our being, crucial to our telos as creatures.…”