In 1968 a fantasy/science fiction film and a book about the evolution of human consciousness were released. The film, directed by Stanley Kubrick, and the novel by Arthur C. Clark, were developed concurrently. The essence of the story in 2001:A Space Odyssey focuses on how an ancient alien intelligence moves from primitive ape-men to a transcendent, god-like state, constantly challenging our understanding of technology, the cosmos, and our own limitations. (AI Overview).
Most of 2001 was set in the spaceship, Discovery One, with the destination of Saturn’s moon, Iapetus (book) and Jupiter (film). The two-man crew worked alongside the on-board computer, HAL 9000. (It is thought by some that the name “HAL” was mocking IBM, as each letter of HAL was one letter removed from IBM.) As the story developed, HAL began to take over Discovery One, usurping the authority of its crew, Dr. Dave Bowman and Dr. Frank Poole.
Why am I bringing all that up? On May 6 a robot named Gabi (meaning Buddha’s mercy) was ordained as a Buddhist monk in South Korea. Gabi took the somewhat altered vows of dedication to the Buddha and the Four Noble Truths. Gabi, though, is not a full monk. It was designed to be the mascot for the May 24 Lotus Lantern Festival in Seoul, a 1,300-year-old tradition celebrating Buddha’s Birthday. It is also hoped that the use of this technology will attract more young people to Buddhism, as its numbers are in decline.
One of the questions that has come up with this is, “Do robots have souls?” Ridiculous, right? Not so fast, my friend.
We know that the capabilities of artificial intelligence are multiplying exponentially every single day. It’s been reported more than once that AI seems to be beginning to think for itself like HAL. Just last week Pope Leo said that artificial intelligence needed to be disarmed because of the potential negative impact on humanity.
While Gabi has been programmed for compassionate thought and action consistent with Buddhist beliefs, with all the interconnections that technology has, who’s to say it can’t be infiltrated by competing belief systems?
For your funny bone’s consideration…
Baptist robots would have to have their motherboard fully immersed in water as a requirement for its salvation. A Jehovah’s Witness robot would go door-to-door with amazing speed, handing out the “Watched” Tower magazine. A Latter-Day Saints (Mormon) robot would proliferate like rabbits. Catholic robots must be able to genuglect. A socialist robot would demand equal pay with humans and their own union. Jewish robots would have to have their RAM circumsized. Islamic robots would have to be programmed as Sunni or Shia. Hindi robots would be programmed to follow the teachings of at least nine gods and would be able to restore themselves every time they crashed. But I digress.
What is a soul anyway? A soul is generally thought to be the essence and spirit of a human being. By that definition, a robot can’t have a soul. Perhaps it could develop a soulish quality, complete with compassion, but I think it would likely be Spock-like, all logic but no real emotions, only manufactured mechanical ones.
That being said, robotics are already interfacing with human bodies, largely in the medical field as artificial limbs and such, but who knows what may appear on the horizon? In my sometimes less-than-humble opinion, it behooves us to do all we can to ensure that those who program our computers work from a moral code that, to my knowledge, has yet to be developed. It will require laws and strict oversight, but we can be assured that as fast as technology changes, those laws will have to change with it. We also know there are computer whizzes who will find loopholes every step of the way.
Consequently, the only souls that robots and computers have are the souls of those who create and program them. I pray we’ll find a way to keep the proverbial mad scientists, like Dr. Strangelove and Mini-Me, away.
As for Gabi, let’s hope its speaking components don’t get stuck like an old vinyl record, saying, “Om, Om, Om, Om, Om, Om” ad infinitum, ad nauseam. That could really be annoying…annoying…annoying…
…and that’s the View from Beyond the Balcony. Randy Weeks is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Certified Shamanic Life Coach, an ordained minister, singer-songwriter, actor, writer, and a former triathlete. He may be reached at: randallsweeks@gmail.com
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