Interview: Questions for a Catholic Priest
What’s happening with artificial intelligence has a strong relationship with a Catholic practice of faith. We celebrate the resurrection, commune with those not physically present, and speak of eternal life, in these cases captured in the zeroes and ones of code for as long as the server still runs. I don't believe this technology is nearly the same thing as our relationship with God, but it can often feel like the same thing. This technology is developed to help cope with the grief of loss, but I can't help but think it also challenges our existing beliefs about the space between the living and the dead. Do you think this kind of technology poses risks for those seeking closure and comfort in God?
Those building these technologies often talk about being able to ‘speak’ to those who’ve passed as being a modern extension of what we already do by hanging old family photographs on the wall. That it’s remembrance reinvented. Memory is a critical means by which we honor those who’ve passed away, but it’s also one of the strongest ways we honor the events of The Bible. Our memory keeps our faith alive. But if we can recall past loved ones simply by opening up an app and ‘talking’ to them, what do you think that does to our perception of being able to talk to God?
Modern digital culture often assumes aspects of faith and religious belief. Our use of social media is highly ritualized and habitualized. We revere technological evangelists, prophets and the beliefs they espouse. We are disciples of platform. These ideas connect to the growing faith fostered by artificial intelligence and its ability to reach our inner lives. For it to adjust our perspectives on the world, and connect us to new systems of thought. Chat GPT's interface of singular, definitive answers diverges from Google's lists of search results, and we often taken these answers 'as gospel'. Do you think organized religion has a responsibility to talk back? If so, what would it say?
Many of the rituals of what we practice in faith are offline. Much of what we’re talking about here with artificial intelligence feels as if it’s the future arriving at an alarming rate. The technologies of grief often feel as if they sit at an uncomfortable intersection between the two. In your work with the bereaved, what role do you feel technology has to offer, and how does that relate to the church’s current use of technology and efforts to modernize?
