Ethics and AI: where are the humanities?

The word ethics –coming from the ancient Greek word ἦθος, meaning habits, character — was first used by Aristotle, in the effort of creating a new philosophical branch from the arguments originated by his predecessors, Socrate and Plato. Aristotle’s attempt with the study of ethics was to offer a rational answer to the question of how human beings should best live pursuing virtue and happiness. Today, I feel this inevitably ties back to AI, which is part of our lives.

This article from the The New York Times. especially this quote “I don’t know enough theology to be a good engineer,” blew my mind.

Picture credits: The New York Times, Can Silicon Valley find God?

I couldn’t agree more with the argument that, as we confront the question of what makes us human, we should NOT disregard “the religions and spiritualities that make up our oldest kinds of knowledge. Whether we agree with them or not, they are our shared inheritance, part of the past, present and future of humankind.”

I am often puzzled when the topic of ethics in AI is addressed by people who have a strong technical background, who are great engineers and scientists but that do not work with either philosophers nor theologists; “[… ] Why is it that people who understand #culture, #literature, art and #religion are not part of the…