To make AI morally good, tech companies are turning to religion. But some say it isn’t that simple.
“These are not questions a lab can answer,” Anthropic co-founder Chris Olah said earlier this year at the Vatican’s presentation of Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical on AI. As tech companies compete to build the most powerful artificial intelligence (ChatGPT), some are using religion as a guide to developing morally good models. These companies are increasingly seeking input from philosophers and faith leaders, arguing that religion can help them develop AI to be morally good in an environment rife with unfounded fears about AI. However, critics argue that this idea fails to account for how different traditions and worldviews can often contradict one another. Some worry that using religion to train AI risks prioritizing certain traditions and distorting others, particularly in faiths that don't see themselves as a system of ethics. Despite these challenges, Meghan Sullivan, a philosopher of religion at the University of Notre Dame, was impressed by the rigorous engagement with religion at Anthropic, which has met with over 15 religious and cross-cultural groups.
Published : Yesterday by in Tech
Amid this much-discussed turn to faith, there has been little public scrutiny surrounding what exactly these technology companies think religion is — and, perhaps more important, what they hope to get... [7566 symbols]
Topics: AI
