ENGULFING PRESENCE OF ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE Philosophical Reflections on its Challenges and Opportunities is a collection of papers, presented at the National Research Seminar on Artificial Intelligence, organ Philosophers of India (ACPI), in October 2023. In our ultramodern times, organized by the Association of Christian Al has become a very powerful force to be reckoned with. With the bloom of Al, affecting every sphere of our lives, it is feared that human beings are gradually getting mechanized. With such danger of mechanization, the very human existence is questioned. This volume takes a critical look at various dimensions of Al. It sincerely urges all the stake-holders - scientists, environmentalists, social activists, politicians, lawmakers, economists, philosophers, theologians, and all people of good will of this multidimensional enterprise of Al, to come together to collectively and responsibly reflect upon the future course of actions of, and for, AI technologies. It explains how at every stage of Al's development; moral values of human dignity & Identity, holistic welfare of Nature, including plants, insects & animals, and the concern for the present & future generations must be given utmost importance.
Stephen S. Jayard (sjayard@jdv.edu.in/sjayard@gmail.com) is a professor of Philosophy and the Director of Jnana Deepa Centre for Science and Religion, at Jnana Deepa (Papal Athenaeum), Pune; has qualified NET of the UGC; was awarded JRF by ICPR and merit scholarship by the Central University, Hyderabad, from where he obtained his doctorate in Philosophy of Science, had his post-doctoral research at the Lonergan Institutes in Washington DC & Boston USA and the University of Toronto, Canada; has been a visiting faculty at Sogang University, South Korea, International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, and Symbiosis Liberal School of Arts, Pune; a member in the syllabus Review Committee and the Centre for Quality Assurance, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka; has published several articles and books including, Towards a Theory of Rationality in Science - A Plea for Reasonableness and Can We Ever Know How Much We Don't Know?- Philosophical Reflections on Science, Spirituality, Wisdom and Ignorance; has presented several research papers; teaches at several Institutes in India and University of Jaffna and conducts seminars and retreats in India and abroad.
The anthology titled ""Engulfing Presence of Artificial Intelligence: Philosophical Reflections on Its Challenges and Opportunities"" is a timely contribution to the very pressing questions of the nature of Al, the human nature, and the relations between them. It is very impressive to see the ranges of issues that this anthology is engaging with.
The book engages directly with many pressing questions that humanity have been confronting even before Al was on the scene but recognizes how those questions are revisited, reviewed, reformulated, and resolved in the light of Al. The various parts of the anthology are thematically structured around different questions and explore with considerable depth the natures and varieties of the questions that the present-day Al throw at us and suggest a way to move towards some resolution. Whether it is psycho-physical implications or socio-political repercussions, the attempt in this anthology has been quite comprehensive and laudable.
One needs to recognize that humans have always been homo faber. However, the tools and entities that are made throw up questions about the nature of what it is to be a human. Recognizing that humans are also homo ludens, the tools and entities made, do reflect the playfulness of humans a key ingredient of what it is to be a human. These suggest that tools and the artifacts contribute to the making of us. And these provide a mirror for us to evaluate our Selves. Our sense of self is crucial to work out a notion of ethical living, that of a non-exploitative relation with fellow human beings, a deep respect for other beings in Nature. The Al, in the last few years, has insinuated itself in the interstices of our working out an ethical notion of Self, so much so that it is becoming difficult to work out a notion of responsible and ethical Self not withstanding what Timinit Gebru pointed out with her fellow authors that ChatGPT style systems are more like stochastic parrots. We need to be aware of the difficulties that we will face as the Al systems become more and more sophisticated and not lose our questioning ability to work out a more profound account of Self.
The anthology at hand is a significant although a modest attempt to work through the intricacies of the questions related to Self that a homo faber and a homo ludens constantly endeavour to sharpen and always tentatively answer. It is tentative because we are humans and hence possess only limited abilities. The book, I hope, will be received well by many scholars both in India and abroad.
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