Medieval Theology and Modern ChatBots

Free and Open to the Public

Through the eyes of early and medieval Christian thinkers, Prof. Jordan Wales theologically reflects on the question of how we are to construe and to live well with artificially intelligent agents and companions. Ancient Christian accounts of the person as a self-giving subject shape medieval legends of humanoid robots. These “automata” uniquely draw together nature’s deep powers of reflecting God, but they lack true personal interiority and so cannot give themselves. Instead, they are instruments by which humans’ own relational personhood can be developed or degraded. At best, artificial images of personhood can serve as “icons,” directing us back to the relationality by which humans echo God. At worst, they serve as an “idols” when they become substitutes for human companions, drawing their users into a utilitarian frame that excludes self-gift by simply mirroring back to the user his or her own aims. …