Last night, I joined scholars, journalists, policymakers and faith-based leaders for an engaging conversation on AI & ethics, hosted by my alma mater University of Notre Dame.
The dialogue was part of an effort led by Meghan Sullivan Adam Kronk Angie Appleby Purcell and the Notre Dame Institute for Ethics and the Common Good to build a network to create a faith-based ethical framework for AI -- something that I think is both timely and needed.
It might seem counterintuitive to point to our most ancient institutions to navigate cutting edge technology. And yet it is the Vatican, the HQ of a nearly 2,000 year old religious institution, that has put out some of the most thoughtful writing I have seen on human intelligence in the age of AI. (Link in comments.)
AI raises profound ethical, social and economic questions -- even as it poses opportunities for scientific advancement, innovation and learning. As a parent of three young children, I worry about the impact AI will have on my children's social connections, relationships and job prospects in the decades ahead. As a citizen, I worry about AI's implications for our democracy, our climate, our safety, our economy, our social cohesion, our dignity and our humanity.
As I shared in the discussion, the race toward AGI today is driven primarily by geopolitics and market forces. The AI labs do not have a vision for what our AI-reshaped society and economy will -- or should -- look like when/if they are successful, nor, frankly do our policymakers or leaders, or even most social scientists.
I see an enormous opportunity for faith-based and faith-informed leaders and scholars to help fill this void, alongside other moral, ethical, spiritual and secular partners, scholars and thinkers. Faith traditions have the benefit of time-tested principles and long-standing values. It is through this lens that they can help answer not what *will* be human in an era of AI, but what *should* be.
As we left the discussion, Julia French sent us with a parting gift of a candle from the Grotto at Notre Dame -- a special place on campus where Domers go to pray and light a candle, as my mom did while I was trying out for Notre Dame's Irish Guard 20+ years ago. The thoughtfulness of the gift -- its origin in a beloved place, the handmade design touches that Julia personally added, its significance to my community-- was a reminder to me of the humanity that should be at the core of our response to AI.
