- Feb 5, 2002
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In a recent discussion of the potential benefits and dangers of artificial intelligence, a friend expressed that those developing such technologies were “playing God.” At this point everyone nodded solemnly. No one needed to say that this was a bad thing.
But what exactly is playing God?
While we should not be naïve about the potential dark side of technology, honesty demands we recognize that technical progress has radically improved all of our lives. My wife and I have seven children. Nothing drives this point home for me more than visiting an old section of a cemetery and seeing a family headstone with half a dozen or more names of children who, victims of some plague or other, didn’t live to see their 10th birthdays.
Because of developments like vaccines and modern sewage disposal and treatment, we can reasonably expect all of our children to reach adulthood. That was not true for most of human history. Indeed, our first child was born by emergency C-section. In another time and place, both mother and child could easily have been lost, making the question of the other six moot. Almost no one expresses concern that these technological advances are “playing God.”
It might be more accurate to say, rather, that technological advances are our “playing humanity.” When Adam and Eve were given stewardship over the earth, this included developing the remarkable potential that God built into creation and then offering it back to God in worship. This is poignantly captured in the liturgy when the priest offers “fruit of the vine and work of human hands.”
Continued below.
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But what exactly is playing God?
While we should not be naïve about the potential dark side of technology, honesty demands we recognize that technical progress has radically improved all of our lives. My wife and I have seven children. Nothing drives this point home for me more than visiting an old section of a cemetery and seeing a family headstone with half a dozen or more names of children who, victims of some plague or other, didn’t live to see their 10th birthdays.
Because of developments like vaccines and modern sewage disposal and treatment, we can reasonably expect all of our children to reach adulthood. That was not true for most of human history. Indeed, our first child was born by emergency C-section. In another time and place, both mother and child could easily have been lost, making the question of the other six moot. Almost no one expresses concern that these technological advances are “playing God.”
It might be more accurate to say, rather, that technological advances are our “playing humanity.” When Adam and Eve were given stewardship over the earth, this included developing the remarkable potential that God built into creation and then offering it back to God in worship. This is poignantly captured in the liturgy when the priest offers “fruit of the vine and work of human hands.”
Technology is part of God’s plan
Continued below.
Technology results in 'playing God' if it denies reality
It’s common to hear people characterize the latest technological advance, like artificial intelligence, as ‘playing God.’ But what does that really mean? Theologian Brett Salkeld explains that technology is good, and part of God’s plan, unless we use it to deny reality and our place in creation.
www.oursundayvisitor.com
