Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 37, No. 300.
        Department of Digital Humanities, University of Cologne
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        Date: 2023-11-12 22:03:31+00:00
        From: James Rovira <jamesrovira@gmail.com>
        Subject: Re: [Humanist] 37.298: the morality of modelling?

Sent from my iPhone

> In AI the modelling of human
> intelligence and its creations mostly aims at imitative perfection.

Is there any reason at all to believe AI “models human intelligence”? How can we
take that claim seriously? Predictive text, for example, is not the same as
human use of words. Words don’t even exist for it that I can tell. Behind the
displayed text - numbers - then behind that, 1s and 0s. No memory or sense
perception. No feeling. Nothing organic. Predictive text has more in common with
a pocket calculator, a really big and fast one, than the human brain.

I don’t take issue with the part of the sentence that includes the words “and
its creations.” That’s where copyright issues come into play, or might.


> If, say, I create
> a computational system to implement the cultural practices of a diviner
> in Botswana, would I be transgressing and be liable at least for the moral
> accusation of appropriating those practices for my own advancement as a
> scholar of religion?

I understand your question correctly, you’re talking about using AI to guide you
as you physically carry out the practices of a diviner.

But you don’t have to bring AI into the question at all. Suppose you were just
reading a book and implementing the practices? I don’t think anyone would
consider that a violation of copyright.

Suppose you were carrying out the practice, videotaping the event, and selling
copies of the video? Or charging people admission to watch? Maybe, but I would
only ask a copyright lawyer about that.

Liability for cultural appropriation or some kind of ethical transgression is
another matter. But again, wouldn’t the question be the same if you were reading
a printed book and following it? Isn’t that essentially what AI would be doing?
Drawing from its corpus and reproducing it for you? A corpus that is made up of
printed texts among other things? It’s not like the AI actually knows anything
on its own.

In this case AI isn’t teaching anything. It’s just summarizing what’s already in
there for you. It’s another time saving device like a calculator.

Jim R


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