Jordan Wales's guest appearances

Jordan Wales

The Thomistic Institute

Issues, Etc.

That's So Second Millennium

The Radio Free Hillsdale Hour

Hillsdale College Podcast Network Superfeed

Jordan Peterson

Steven Mosher

Carol Swain

Victor Davis Hanson

James Rickards

Mark Bauerlein

Robby Soave

Michael Anton

Mike Pompeo

Michael Walsh

Chris Bell

Shane Smith

Ken Starr

Darcia Narvaez

Andrew Klavan

OwlTail

Jordan Wales, PhD, who teaches theology at Hillsdale College in Michigan, spoke with Paul and Bill about his research at the intersection of robotics and religion. He discussed a compelling concern in the future relationship between human beings and technology. In particular, the concern, about which he spoke at the 2021 conference of the Society of Catholic Scientists, dealt with the interaction between individuals and the entities Wales calls “apparently personal artificial intelligence” (APAI). APAI products are already becoming commonplace in the world of commerce, as this BBC article discusses. People will be increasingly able to purchase, and interact with, virtual friends or babysitters or therapists, for example, Dr. Wales pointed out. This raises moral questions related to personhood, covering both the APAI product and the user of that product. The product will not have an inner life representative of what we think of as a person, although the definition of person has an interesting history influenced by scholars such as Saint Augustine. Human beings can express and influence their own understandings of personhood through their interactions with APAI. These understandings may lead to various types of interaction, ranging from pride and manipulation to excessive empathy, and one middle ground would consist of appreciation for the humanity that underlies the production and information/formation of the APAI product, Dr. Wales pointed out. As the use of APAI grows, there are also concerns about how the aggregated human “input” into the experience of APAI personalities may cause a flattening-out of human perspectives on the unique qualities of each person. One current example of the trajectory for these concerns comes from the use of the auto-correct feature by Google for writing. Long-term possibilities include such features of interactions not only affecting our choices of words and expressions, but also influencing what subjects we think about and how we think about them. This highlights the moral principle that ultimately we must retain our unique personal identities and wisely discern how to exercise our responsibility and restraint in allowing some possible applications of APAI to influence us, Dr. Wales said.

<ol><li><a href="https://www.hillsdale.edu/faculty/jordan-wales/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jordan Wales, PhD</a>, who teaches theology at Hillsdale College in Michigan, spoke with Paul and Bill about his research at the <a href="https://www.hillsdale.edu/hillsdale-blog/academics/from-robotics-religion/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">intersection of robotics and religion</a>.</li> <li>He discussed a compelling concern in the future relationship between human beings and technology. In particular, the concern, about which he spoke at the 2021 conference of the <a href="https://www.catholicscientists.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Society of Catholic Scientists</a>, dealt with the interaction between individuals and the entities Wales calls “apparently personal artificial intelligence” (APAI).</li> <li>APAI products are already becoming commonplace in the world of commerce, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-39657382" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">as this BBC article discusses</a>. People will be increasingly able to purchase, and interact with, virtual friends or babysitters or therapists, for example, Dr. Wales pointed out.</li> <li>This raises moral questions related to personhood, covering both the APAI product and the user of that product. The product will not have an inner life representative of what we think of as a person, although the definition of person has an interesting history influenced by scholars such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethics-philosophy/St-Augustine" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Saint Augustine</a>. Human beings can express and influence their own understandings of personhood through their interactions with APAI. These understandings may lead to various types of interaction, ranging from pride and manipulation to excessive empathy, and one middle ground would consist of appreciation for the humanity that underlies the production and information/formation of the APAI product, Dr. Wales pointed out.</li> <li>As the use of APAI grows, there are also concerns about how the aggregated human “input” into the experience of APAI personalities may cause a flattening-out of human perspectives on the unique qualities of each person. One current example of the trajectory for these concerns comes from the use of <a href="https://smallbusiness.chron.com/googles-autocorrect-work-59730.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the auto-correct feature</a> by Google for writing. Long-term possibilities include such features of interactions not only affecting our choices of words and expressions, but also influencing what subjects we think about and how we think about them. This highlights the moral principle that ultimately we must retain our unique personal identities and wisely discern how to exercise our responsibility and restraint in allowing some possible applications of APAI to influence us, Dr. Wales said.</li></ol>

Ep 131 - Jordan Wales and the Moral Theology of AI

Kevin Portteus

Michael Barone

Topics: Why Congress doesn't work, HOW AMERICA'S POLITICAL PARTIES CHANGE (AND HOW THEY DON'T), and the Trinity.Scot Bertram talks with Hillsdale Professor of Politics Kevin Portteus about "Congress: How It Worked and Why It Doesn't". Michael Barone of AEI and the Washington Examiner joins the show to discuss his latest book HOW AMERICA'S POLITICAL PARTIES CHANGE (AND HOW THEY DON'T). And as Christmas approaches, Jordan Wales, from Hillsdale's theology department, explains the Trinity.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Topics: Why Congress doesn't work, HOW AMERICA'S POLITICAL PARTIES CHANGE (AND HOW THEY DON'T), and the Trinity. Scot Bertram talks with Hillsdale Professor of Politics Kevin Portteus about "Congress: How It Worked and Why It Doesn't". Michael Barone of AEI and the Washington Examiner joins the show to discuss his latest book HOW AMERICA'S POLITICAL PARTIES CHANGE (AND HOW THEY DON'T). And as Christmas approaches, Jordan Wales, from Hillsdale's theology department, explains the Trinity.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Kevin Portteus, Michael Barone, & Jordan Wales

Chris Hamilton

Alan Sears

Craig Osten

Trent England

Topics: The science of beer, Dwight Eisenhower's faith, artificial intelligence, and defending the Electoral College.Scot Bertram is joined by Chris Hamilton, professor of chemistry at Hillsdale, to talk about the science of beer. Alan Sears &amp; Craig Osten, co-authors of THE SOUL OF AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT, talk about the faith of Dwight Eisenhower. Hillsdale's Jordan Wales on the present and future of AI. And excerpts from a recent lecture by Trent England at Hillsdale's Kirby Center in defense of the Electoral College.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Topics: The science of beer, Dwight Eisenhower's faith, artificial intelligence, and defending the Electoral College. Scot Bertram is joined by Chris Hamilton, professor of chemistry at Hillsdale, to talk about the science of beer. Alan Sears &amp; Craig Osten, co-authors of THE SOUL OF AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT, talk about the faith of Dwight Eisenhower. Hillsdale's Jordan Wales on the present and future of AI. And excerpts from a recent lecture by Trent England at Hillsdale's Kirby Center in defense of the Electoral College.See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Chris Hamilton, Alan Sears & Craig Osten, Jordan Wales, & Trent England