An international machine-learning expert has warned of the dangers of “anthropomorphising” artificial intelligence (AI) machines, saying guardrails must be built to prevent humans – particularly children and teens – from being deceived.
Lord Lionel Tarassenko, speaking at the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion on whether artificial general intelligence (AGI) is compatible with a Christian worldview, stated: “[Humans] physically experience pain and joy. An AGI chatbot cannot, although some humans can be fooled into believing it can.”
He highlighted the theological concept of imago dei which goes all the way back to Genesis: “We are created in the image of God … While AI has sophisticated reasoning abilities and the capacity to fool human beings, a machine has no thoughts or feelings or awareness and only produces simulations of emotions, not natural experiences or understanding. Therefore, you cannot reproduce the image of God in its silicon.”
