Artificial Pastoral Care: Abdication, Delegation or Collaboration?

This article considers the relationship between Christian pastoral care and Artificial Intelligence systems. Four aspects are identified from definitions of pastoral care: the horizon of contingency in mortality, the role of wisdom rather than mere information, the oppressive and/or liberatory poten...

Description complète

Enregistré dans:  
Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: Stoddart, Eric 1960- (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
Vérifier la disponibilité: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
En cours de chargement...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Publié: Sage 2023
Dans: Studies in Christian ethics
Année: 2023, Volume: 36, Numéro: 3, Pages: 660-674
Classifications IxTheo:NBE Anthropologie
NCJ Science et éthique
RB Ministère ecclésiastique
RG Aide spirituelle; pastorale
ZG Sociologie des médias; médias numériques; Sciences de l'information et de la communication
Sujets non-standardisés:B Good Samaritan
B Transhumanism
B Wisdom
B Pastoral Care
B Artificial Intelligence
B Empathy
Accès en ligne: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Résumé:This article considers the relationship between Christian pastoral care and Artificial Intelligence systems. Four aspects are identified from definitions of pastoral care: the horizon of contingency in mortality, the role of wisdom rather than mere information, the oppressive and/or liberatory potential of AI and the importance of empathic presence. In rejecting a transhumanist argument that mental processes are substrate-independent, it is contended that pastoral carers embrace, rather than seeking to circumvent, their crucial finitude in being humans who care. A distinction is drawn between probabilistic reasoning and judgement in retaining a vital place for decision-making that is social. Whilst not eschewing value in AI systems, this article argues for critical evaluation of technologically framed contributions to addressing barriers to people's participation. The importance of empathy is highlighted—in the light of claims not only of robotic mimicry but of interindividual models of emotion. It is concluded that the notion of artificial care be ruled out although the possibilities of AI-assisted care are not dismissed. Opportunities for humans to abdicate from the responsibilities to care, in favour of AI substitutes, are deemed to be best avoided.
ISSN:0953-9468
Contient:Enthalten in: Studies in Christian ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/09539468231179571