Chestnut Hill College recently issued the following announcement.
INSTITUTE FOR RELIGION AND SCIENCE PRESENTS: GOD FROM THE MACHINE: CONSCIOUSNESS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND DIVINE PRESENCE
December 2, 2021 - 7:00pm
Location: Sugarloaf Campus, Chestnut Hill College
GOD FROM THE MACHINE:
Consciousness, Artificial Intelligence, and Divine Presence
December 2, 2021
7:00 pm EST
SugarLoaf Campus of Chestnut Hill College
9230 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118
In person and Livestream
Free and open to the public
This presentation will examine the theological status of artificial intelligence (AI) based on its potential for increasingly complex and even self-reflective consciousness. We will draw on three sources: (1) Mystical approaches to consciousness in the work of the Jesuit scientist-priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (2) Similar panentheistic threads in the work of Muhammad Iqbal, the intellectual father of Pakistan and (3) the Integrated Information Theory (IIT) developed by neuroscientists Giulio Tononi and Christof Koch. We will consider the viability and consequences of a theological perspective connecting the recognition of God in all things with a recognition of consciousness as a fundamental aspect of reality. How might this change our worldview? Does it affect ethical considerations of AI?
Register here.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing a link to the event as well as more information about the program.
Joshua Canzona, PhD holds a doctorate in theological and religious studies from Georgetown University. His research interests include comparative mysticism, religion and science, and religion and art. He teaches at the Wake Forest University School of Divinity and serves as the Associate University Ombudsman at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill where he provides conflict resolution services to a constituency exceeding 40,000 community members.
Original source can be found here.
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