Below is a list of the pages where you can either find the quotes I actually used in my research project, or find a detailed account of the points I refer to.
BROOK, R. A. (2002)
Flesh and Machines: How Robots Will Change Us
Rodney Brooks, Director of the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), admits that scientists may discover that they themselves are just not intelligent enough to build self-producing intelligent robots. (5) (p. 209)
Brooks says “... it is clear that robotic technology will merge with biotechnology in the first half of this century,” (p. 235) and he therefore concludes that “the distinction between us and robots is going to disappear.” (8) (p. 236)
Brooks points out “We are a long, long way from being able to download ourselves into computers or robots. While in principle it will ultimately be possible, it is not a worthwhile place to look for personal salvation for those of us who are alive today.” (9) (p. 208)
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FOERST, A. (2004)
God In The Machine: What Robots Teach Us About Humanity and God
She rejects the use of any empirical criteria to define when an AI is equal to humans by emphasizing that whatever criteria is used to define an AI’s worth will exclude human beings. For example, Foerst states that arguing that an AI is “not aware” and can therefore be switched off would exclude all babies under three years old, Alzheimer’s patients, people in a coma and others. (pp. 186~189)
Foerst spurns the idea of “soul” being used as an argument to deny robots the possibility of ever becoming like humans. She explains how the word “soul” lost its original Jewish meaning when translated into Greek. Christians understand the soul to be something separate from the body, something that makes us humans special. But the Jewish concept of soul (nefes) is not something that anyone can possess, because it is an emergent phenomenon that blesses a community’s relationship with God. Foerst believes that once we are willing to integrate robots into our community, then they will become a part of nefes. (pp. 118~122)
