John Wyatt on Artificial intelligence and Simulated Relationships

The latest Cambridge Paper from the Jubilee Centre is available online here (from where a pdf can be downloaded), this one by John Wyatt:

John Wyatt, ‘Artificial intelligence and Simulated Relationships’, Cambridge Papers 28, 3 (December 2019).

Here is the summary:

‘Interactions with apparently human-like and ‘emotionally intelligent’ AIs are likely to become commonplace within the next ten years, ranging from entirely disembodied agents like chatbots through to physical humanoid robots. This will lead to new and troubling ethical, personal and legal dilemmas. Will the promotion of “relationships” with machines contribute to societal wellbeing and human flourishing, or provide new opportunities for manipulation and deception of the vulnerable? As biblical Christians we are called to safeguard and to celebrate the centrality of embodied human-to-human relationships, particularly in essential caring and therapeutic roles, and in our families and Christian communities.’