ABSTRACT As we engineer self‐improving machines, the prospect of their evolution into divine beings may spark awe and wonder. This essay delves into the intricate relationship between humanity and artificial intelligence systems, considering several cultural narratives that portray AI systems as god‐like entities that have the potential to respond to humans' deepest needs and, at the same time, to destroy us and human civilization. Intelligent machines can evoke a reverence akin to responses that are usually reserved for spiritual beings that are deemed capable of offering salvation. This essay draws parallels between ordinary human longings for salvation and the notion of techno‐salvation, purportedly to be achieved through the use of machines. In narratives depicting futural techno‐salvation, a theme of separation or distance often appears in the form of a gap (for example, between our present state and the possibility of our complete happiness) that needs to be bridged and can be bridged only with the help of a supernatural mediator or savior. From a Zen perspective, recognizing the illusory nature of futural wants (which project fulfillment into an imagined future) discloses the illusory nature of individual personhood itself. The self, often assumed to be a fixed and independent entity, is instead understood as a transient, interdependent process arising from one moment to the next. This insight—central to Zen practice—encourages a ceasing to project salvation onto external agents or powers, including artificial intelligence systems and other technological mediators. Instead, it catalyzes a transformative journey inward, wherein spiritual awakening arises, not through the attainment of a desired, future state but through a direct realization of the present moment.
ABSTRACT This paper considers the possibility of AI being employed to improve moral character from the perspective of an account of virtues that is psychologically realistic (the HEIS model). It is informed by a Christian agapeic ethic oriented toward goods of creaturely well‐being that ground right action. Part 1 briefly presents such an account of the virtues. Part 2 explores three ways that advancing AI could positively impact virtue formation, each of which is conceivable but has significant limitations and drawbacks. Part 3 argues that recognizing the social character of virtue formation requires recognizing the importance of extending the rule of law to AI. The effectiveness of the rule of law in the face of advancing AI, however, will depend on Niebuhrian virtues of moral vigilance that recognize the ease with which the loftily stated ideals sometimes associated with AI coexist with other aims.
ABSTRACT Emergency healthcare professionals enact the virtue of prudence in their care practices. However, it is acknowledged that religion is often left out of emergency decision making within our healthcare institutions. This essay explores the possibility that human–AI integration during clinical decision making can enhance healthcare professionals' ethical interactions and interventions in emergency medical settings. By introducing “Faith‐Informed Reflection Machines” (FIRM) within decision support systems, I propose a novel approach to incorporating religious and ethical considerations into patient care. Traditional clinical judgment involves engaging classical virtues that help practitioners maintain moral equilibrium under intense pressure. Since medical emergencies often present patients who are cognitively impaired, religious affiliations and cultural considerations can be overlooked, potentially compromising patient autonomy. Our research demonstrates how human–AI integration provides faith‐informed ethical reasoning in situ , thereby shaping both the process of decision making and the personal formation of the professional. By serving as an ethical adjunct to human decision making, these technologies can: (1) enhance prudential reasoning, (2) ensure more equitable healthcare delivery, and (3) facilitate nuanced discernment in uncertain clinical scenarios. Rather than replace human judgment, human–AI integration creates in situ a more comprehensive horizon of care for the medical professional who is prompted to consider the potential impact of a patient's faith context within biomedical triage.
ABSTRACT This paper argues that the regular use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) by young people can thwart their opportunities to develop practical wisdom by substituting for or displacing various practices that this virtue's cultivation requires. The argument unfolds in five steps. First, I review some of GenAI's capabilities and uses, highlighting those that can interfere with intellectual and moral development. Second, I discuss Aristotle's definition of practical wisdom ( phronesis ) and Aquinas's corresponding analysis of the “integral parts” of prudence ( prudentia ). Third, I draw on Matthew Stichter's The Skillfulness of Virtue to confirm that persons acquire a virtue much as they acquire a skill—through concerted practice. Next, I explain some of the ways in which frequent GenAI use is likely to hinder the daily practices by which practical wisdom is slowly acquired by young people. I conclude that the rapid adoption of GenAI for even mundane tasks should incite pause, due to its potentially serious moral consequences.
ABSTRACT This article explores Abderrahmane Taha's Islamic ethical philosophy in dialogue with decolonial thought, focusing on its contribution to pluriversality—a decolonial challenge to Western epistemic universalism. Pluriversality affirms diverse ways of knowing/being but also wrestles with tensions around epistemic incommensurability, normative ambiguity, and the risk of relativism. Drawing on Taha's Trusteeship Paradigm ( al‐Iʾtimāniyya ), this intervention argues that his ethical metaphysics, particularly his formulation of supported reason ( al‐ʿaql al‐muʾayyad ), grounds pluriversality in a relational, dialogical, and morally anchored framework. It does so more robustly than comparable Islamic epistemic projects, including those of Syed Muhammad Naqib al‐Attas and Seyyed Hossein Nasr. Taha critiques secular tolerance as hierarchical and advances covenantal engagement and reciprocatory ethics as principles for navigating difference. His emphasis on ethical obligation, ontological responsibility, and plural rationalities reframes civilizational diversity as a covenant of mutual moral regard. This essay proposes a decolonial Islamic option: a covenantal pluriverse sustained through reciprocal moral responsibility across epistemic and ontological difference.
