CONSCIENCE AND THE ENDS OF HUMANITY: CHRISTIAN HUMANISM AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Abstract The astonishing speed of the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has sparked reflections by theologians and philosophers on what distinctiveness, if any, human beings possess as individuals and as a species. This article addresses this question with respect to an ancient idea in Christian thought reaching back to St. Paul and examined again and again throughout history, namely, human conscience. While sometimes criticized as a tyrannous force in the human psyche, a mere product of social forces of race and class, or a horrific form of self‐torture, many Christian and non‐Christian thinkers continue to examine conscience as a clue to the meaning of being human. This essay continues that examination in the light of the question of human ends and whether AI signals the end of humanity as we know and experience it. Further, the essay is written from the perspective of a robust Christian Humanism dedicated to the integrity of human life while acknowledging that human beings are technological as well as biological, social, and religious beings.