Good evening brothers,
I hope everyone had a Blessed and Happy Easter! When I signed up for this lecture, I kept waffling back and forth on several topics and ultimately landed on a topic that is incredibly interesting to me, and hopefully to you too. Least ways, it’s relevant to all of us, so I hope you enjoy!
The Terminator… I, Robot…2001: A Space Odyssey…the Jetsons…Star Wars and Star Trek…what do all of these have in common? All of them utilize Artificial Intelligence in some capacity. They are all shows created years ago that fantasized about having robots and computer technology that helps humankind be even more efficient (hello, C3PO and R2D2, lookin’ at you guys!).
What is artificial intelligence? John McCarthy, an author and computer scientist, wrote as far back as 2004 that AI is “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs. It is related to the similar task of using computers to understand human intelligence, but AI does not have to confine itself to methods that are biologically observable.” In other words, as famous scientist and the “father of computer science” Alan Turing said in 1950 – it is “making machines think” in a manner similar to humans.
Now back to Star Wars and the others…back when they were created, some technology existed (neural networking), but the scalability and breadth of data available was still not widely developed. Today, we’re not talking about fantasy…we’re living in a world where we have lightning fast processing and computing power, unlocking the ability to sift through and quickly understand and make decisions on petabytes of data…in fact, the amount of data available to use has exploded to zettabytes – or 1 trillion gigabytes. That’s a whole lot of data floating around the world!
Companies everywhere are building machine learning algorithms that scan whatever data they are looking for, constantly train (or learn) and adjust models and outputs, to the point where they can predict behavior. I work in the retail marketing analytics industry and I can say that some examples we look at are the web browsing behavior of customers and potential customers hitting our website and browsing our app. What are the keywords they are using…what spurs them to action and finally say “yes” to purchasing. The end goal is to figure out what makes each customer tick and provide them with a personalized experience, in real time as they browse…and then if they show up in a store, use that same data to profile them and create a “virtual rolodex” for store associates. Fascinating, but creepy at the same time! We are also working to use natural language processing to allow internal users to query our database more effectively and efficiently without needing to know one bit of code. Automated insights and dashboards. Chatbots are another use case in retail…helping customers by keying on their words / phrases / etc. and pointing them to the right place.
In healthcare, you are seeing robotic processes taking over surgeries (with a surgeon in place)…diagnosis and treatment are aided by technology, and I’m sure there are many other things going on that I’m missing. In fact, at my yearly physical a couple weeks ago, my primary care physician and I were discussing ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, and he half jokingly mentioned that in 10 years, who knows how many doctors will be needed if technology can read results and analyze patients. He was half joking, because he’s already seeing some elements of automation and intelligence (voice recognition, virtual visits, etc) in his world.
Governments are using AI to create facial recognition systems that scan crowds. Manufacturers are using technology to improve efficiency, automation, and quality control on their lines.
And, lastly, every day coders are starting to utilize the processing power of the cloud, and are generating memes and deep fake photographs and speeches that look like the “real deal” – one of the latest examples I’ve seen is a picture of Pope Francis floating around wearing a white puffer jacket…all of us know that’s not real at all, but what if someone’s not familiar with our Church and the Holy Father? As with any new and evolving process or technology, AI can be used for good and bad. Countries can use technology to suppress free speech, spread misinformation and sow confusion among citizens, if they so choose.
So as you can see, there are a myriad of potentially positive use cases for artificial intelligence…but as this technology grows…what exactly does our church have to say about it?
As we all know, the Catholic Church takes time to analyze, assess, and ponder issues before taking an official stance on them, however, in February 2020, the Pontifical Academy for Life signed “The Call for AI Ethics” document. The idea of this document, according to author Deborah Castellano Lubov, is to “promote a sense of shared responsibility among international organizations, governments, institutions and the private sector in an effort to create a future in which digital innovation and technological progress grant mankind its centrality.”
In other words, we must work together to make sure technology aids mankind. To achieve this, the paper stated that six ethical principles should guide the development of AI.
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Transparency: AI systems should be understandable to all
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Inclusion: The systems must not discriminate against anyone because every human being has equal dignity
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Accountability: There must always be someone who takes responsibility for what a machine does
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Impartiality: AI systems must not follow or create biases
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Reliability: AI must be reliable
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Security and Privacy: The systems must be secure and respect the privacy of users
This paper also made recommendations for use:
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Humans should be aware if they are interacting with a machine
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AI technology should be used for empowerment, not exploitation
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AI should be employed in the protection of the planet
Additionally, in November 2020 Pope Francis made this his monthly intention – pray that robotics and artificial intelligence remain always at the service of human beings, rather than the other way around. So you can see, AI is definitely at the top of mind at the Vatican, as it progresses and its use grows around the world.
We may not all be developers who can help adhere to the 6 guidelines above, but my challenge to you this evening, brothers, is to think about how these technological advances impact your life, and pray that those who do develop the systems adhere to the 6 principles above.
AI will change our world, and each and every one of us can influence it to ensure it changes for the best…through prayer and improving our knowledge of technological advancements.
I encourage all of us to pray that those developing AI technologies for the future will only use it for the good of mankind.
Thanks for bearing with me on this heavy topic coming right out of the Easter season. Have a great evening!