Desperately Seeking Absolution: AI as Spiritual Father

STOP PRESS: On January 8 an email was sent by the secretary of DMOPC to all speakers informing that the conference is postponed until further notice. I’d like to thank Fr Antoine Melki (computer scientist) for his invitation and the chief organiser Nikos Gouraros. The panel was to be titled: Pastoral care in the age of Artificial Intelligence: Theory and praxis originally scheduled for MONDAY 24/5/2021.

Short Abstract: This presentation focuses on artificial intelligence (AI) taking on the unexpected role of “spiritual father”, as people practice confession on social media as a method of absolution for their transgressions. Some choose to share vlogs of their experiences, unashamedly at first presenting their acts one after another; while others record them in plain text and are sometimes faced with the temptation to exaggerate or lie to their followers. As a result of emerging technologies, such as social networking tools, mobile-based social media platforms, quantified-self wearables, Internet of Things-based conversational bots, data mining practices and sentiment analysis, there is no doubt, that the traditional sacrament of confession in Eastern Christianity has been challenged on a number of levels. This presentation will explore these current and future AI challenges and the implications on pastoral care workers and parishioners alike. ‘The machine’ has always sought disintermediation and efficiency gains as demonstrated by the Gig economy. Removing the priest from the equation, is analogously like removing the “human in the middle” and going straight to the customers (i.e. parishioners). The hope is that members of Eastern Christianity can discern the difference between what the AI is allegedly “selling” in terms of band-aid technosolutionism for spiritual healing, and what the pastoral carer is providing through the Sacrament of Confession and through the lived experience.

Short CV: Katina Michael is a professor at Arizona State University, holding a joint appointment in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and School of Computing, Informatics and Decisions Systems Engineering. She is also the director of the Society Policy Engineering Collective (SPEC) and the Founding Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Technology and Society. Katina is a senior member of the IEEE and a Public Interest Technology advocate who studies the social implications of technology. She has held 13 annual workshops in the social implications of national security space and chaired 3 international symposia on technology and society (ISTAS) in Wollongong, Toronto and Phoenix. She is the Senior Editor of the socio-economic impact section in IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine and was the editor in chief of the award-winning IEEE Technology and Society Magazine. In 2019 she took on the role of working group chair for the IEEE P2089 standard. In 2020 she received the ICTO Golden Medal for lifetime achievement award for exceptional contributions to research in information systems, and the IEEE Phoenix section’s Outstanding Member Contributing to Global Humanitarian Projects Award for her contributions to a better understanding of the impact of emerging technologies on humanity. In 2017, she also received the Brian M. O'Connell Society on the Social Implications of Technology (SSIT) Distinguished Service Award. www.katinamichael.com