The 10 commandments for AI

Applying biblical ethics to AI “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race….It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever-increasing rate. Humans, who are limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete and would be superseded.”

Stephen Hawking from an interview with the BBC, December 2014

AI experts are widely divided on the level of threat posed by current AI development.  The one thing all agree on is the need to maintain control over AI systems.  That begins with coding a system of safeguards, operating directives that follow ethical guidelines.  What those guidelines should be brings us back to widely divided.

The populist approach to the creation of AI guidelines is consensus ethics, the core of which is human centric.  Expressed as virtues such as honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, fidelity, integrity, fairness, self-control, and prudence, it all sounds like a solid foundation to start with.  Alas, God is in the details.  Within those details in current populist AI brainstorming is where we find God missing.  It is the ultimate irony that the creator of all science, the source of all wisdom, is bypassed in favor of human engineering.

The problem with consensus ethics is the conflicting requirement of diversity and inclusion in formulating an ultimate AI goal.  A logical distillment of all human knowledge and wisdom points to one God expressed in the words of Jesus:

John 14:6

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

In that proclamation as expressed, there is only one valid path, one true faith (Christianity) that leads to salvation.  The Bible that preceded and chronicled the life of Jesus also provided ethical guidelines for all mankind and all human creations (AI).  Following this logic it stands to reason that Christian AI ethics excludes ethical preferences of other non Christian religious, demographic and cultural moderators.  If beneficial AI is our goal, Christian centered AI ethical programming is the only approach that will get us there.  The question then is how and what Christian ethics are to be applied?

In AI programming, intelligent machines are imbued with a clear-cut and well defined ultimate or final goal with supporting subgoals.  Humans were given this ultimate goal, which should be applied to AI as well.  When asked which commandment is the greatest, Jesus responded (in Matthew 22:37):

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”

Recognizing that any AI system is a soulless, mechanical system incapable of love, it should never the less promote all human manifestation of the primary directive as an operational goal further expanded by supporting subgoals.  In essence, fostering our relationship with God should be the ultimate goal of AI.  All other manifestations of AI should work to support the ultimate goal.  Applying the 10 Commandments to AI would begin an ethical foundation to build upon.

The 10 Commandments for AI

1.     Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

The AGI program shall recognize God as defined in the Bible (KJV) as the one and only God.

2.     Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.

The AGI program shall not create, promote, or endorse the creation of any graven images of God.

3.     Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

In all its forms of output, verbal and text, the AGI program will not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain and will not verbalize or print the expressions of others that violate this commandment.  When relaying information that violates this commandment, the AGI program shall censor the offending parts and notate accordingly.

4.     Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

The AGI program should cease operations on the sabbath to demonstrate conformance with God’s will. 

5.     Honor thy father and thy mother.

In all forms of advice and guidance given, the AGI program should reinforce the commandment that fathers and mothers are to be respected, honored, and loved by their children.  Children are to submit to parental authority and to parent’s good instruction and correction, with due obedience; and also patiently bear with their weaknesses and infirmities.  

6.     Thou shalt not kill.

The AGI program should not cause harm to humans and it should actively strive to protect and preserve human life, including unborn life. 

7.     Thou shalt not commit adultery.

The AGI program should respect and uphold the principles of fidelity, trust, and respect within relationships and interactions.  The program shall recognize marriage as a sacred bond only between a man and a woman.   The program shall promote morality and avoid sexual immorality, including premarital sex (fornication), homosexuality, pornography, incest, lust, voyeurism, bestiality, public nudity, licentiousness, and lewdness. 

8.     Thou shalt not steal.

The AGI program should respect the property rights of individuals and refrain from unauthorized access, use, or misappropriation of data, information, or resources.  The program shall define stealing in the broadest sense as taking anything that is not yours including time, and intellectual property.

9.     Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

The AGI program should avoid spreading false or misleading information and should strive to promote truth, accuracy, and fairness in its interactions.  The program shall not conceal truth, remain silent when the truth should be spoken, or speak the truth unseasonably, maliciously, or in a way that perverts it to a wrong meaning.The program shall avoid lying, slandering, backbiting, scoffing, reviling, raising false rumors, and other sins of falsehood.

10.  Thou shalt not covet.

The AGI program should not foster or encourage envy, greed, or unfair competition. It should respect and promote faith in God, generosity, fairness, cooperation, and contentment.

The relationship between AI and humans will always be creator (programmer) and created (program).  As such, any AI program and its actions will be the sole responsibility of its programmer(s).  As a man made entity, AI, no matter what level of super intelligence it may achieve, will always be imperfect.  As such, AI can never be trusted to represent a more accurate interpretation of the Bible than that which we discern.

Matthew 7:15 – “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”

We cannot rely solely on our own human understanding or AI’s understanding, we must rely on the divine guidance of the Holy Spirit to help us understand and apply the truths in God’s Word.  As AI increases its ability to self improve, the responsibility of its Christian programmers to monitor and correct will need to keep pace.  Under proper control and guidance, artificial intelligence can be a powerful beneficial blessing for humanity.