Issue: August/September 2024: Ethical Considerations on Artificial Intelligence

[1] This issue of JLE showcases three excellent articles about Artificial Intelligence.  These articles explain how generative Artificial Intelligence works, some of the current ethical challenges, and some frameworks for building a set of guidelines for our use of this new technology. [2] The first essay, written by William Rodriguez, begins with a calming introduction […]

There are few topics as interesting and exciting as the ethics of Artificial Intelligence. And there are few topics as difficult for the lay person to understand. The following is a brief discussion guide to help congregations think through the issues presented in this edition of JLE. [1] What is your philosophy of technology? Have […]

The AI Revolution [1] The ELCA Social Statement on Genetics establishes that [scientific and technological] developments “illustrate the abundant gifts of God’s creation” but cautions that “these developments also exemplify how contemporary human knowledge and technology are causing a different relationship between human power and life.”[i] Our church also teaches that “the Gospel does not […]

Introduction [1] “As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.” (Proverbs 27:19) Water reflects faces and hearts reflect character. There is nothing new about these mirrors and what they reveal. Yet, there is a new mirror that offers us a haunting reflection of ourselves: we must now grapple with […]

Introduction [1] Anyone who has interacted with generative models like ChatGPT or Midjourney knows that their responses can sometimes be deeply flawed. Large language models (LLMs) will sometimes confabulate[1] factual errors. They can also respond in manners that are biased, racist, sexist, or explicit.[i]  Text-to-image diffusion models can make relatively harmless errors like misspelling image […]

In keeping with the theme of this month’s JLE, our book reviews focus on ethical implications of AI. Mark Ellingsen reviews Is Artificial Intelligence Racist? The Ethics of AI and the Future of Humanity.  In this book, author Arshin Adib-Moghaddam describes the racist biases that permeate AI’s algorithms and examines the troubling implications for policing, banking, job applications, […]

1] Though a self-proclaimed friend of Artificial Intelligence (pp.31,119), Cambridge University Professor of Global Thought Arshin Adib-Moghaddam is concerned about racism and sexism creeping into the algorithms governing emerging AI technology (pp.3-4,48-49).  This is an issue that is getting some attention among experts (notably in another new book by Calvin Lawrence, Hidden in White Sight, […]

[1] Article XVI of the Augsburg Confession affirms the responsibility of Christians to engage in civil affairs. However, engaging well and faithfully requires Christians to understand the civil and political contexts in which they are embedded. Many recent works in political theory have described various contemporary political crises and challenges: social fragmentation at global, national, […]