What do you think?
Rate this book
The Robot Will See You Now: Artificial Intelligence and the Christian Faith
The last decade has seen dramatic advances in artificial intelligence and robotics technology, raising tough questions that need to be addressed. The Robot Will See You Now considers how Christians can respond to these issues – and flourish – in the years ahead.
Contributions from a number of international experts, including editors John Wyatt and Stephen Williams, explore a range of social and ethical issues raised by recent advances in AI and robotics. Considering the role of artificial intelligence in areas such as medicine, employment and security, the book looks at how AI is perceived as well as its actual impact on human interactions and relationships.
Alongside are theological responses from an orthodox Christian perspective. Looking at how artificial intelligence and robotics may be considered in the light of Christian doctrine, The Robot Will See You Now offers a measured, thoughtful view on how Christians can understand and prepare for the challenges posted by the development of AI.
This is a book for anyone who is interested in learning more about how AI and robots have advanced in recent years, and anyone who has wondered how Christian teaching relates to artificial intelligence. Whatever your level of technical knowledge, The Robot Will See You Now will give you a thorough understanding of AI and equip you to respond to the challenges it poses with confidence and faith.
Contributions from a number of international experts, including editors John Wyatt and Stephen Williams, explore a range of social and ethical issues raised by recent advances in AI and robotics. Considering the role of artificial intelligence in areas such as medicine, employment and security, the book looks at how AI is perceived as well as its actual impact on human interactions and relationships.
Alongside are theological responses from an orthodox Christian perspective. Looking at how artificial intelligence and robotics may be considered in the light of Christian doctrine, The Robot Will See You Now offers a measured, thoughtful view on how Christians can understand and prepare for the challenges posted by the development of AI.
This is a book for anyone who is interested in learning more about how AI and robots have advanced in recent years, and anyone who has wondered how Christian teaching relates to artificial intelligence. Whatever your level of technical knowledge, The Robot Will See You Now will give you a thorough understanding of AI and equip you to respond to the challenges it poses with confidence and faith.
256 pages, Paperback
Published July 15, 2021
13 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 9, 2023
The title of the book is attention grabbing, appealing straightaway to those interested in health care, and rightly so with such authoritative authors in that field as Wyatt and Williams. Subtitled ‘Artificial Intelligence and the Christian Faith’, it is also designed to appeal to Christians with interests in the digital world, with an eschatological dimension.
The editing authors are notable contributors in contemporary debates about bio-medical ethics, and this compilation includes those, but has more wide-ranging content ranging from science fiction and cinema through theological frameworks to ‘Sextech’ and socio-economics.
A cultural and historical analysis has contributions from science fiction and cinema. Lake and Downing engage us with a post-modernist idea that without God there is nothing special about human existence. Downing points to a usurping of God, seen in such films as Ex-Machina, where Nathan, the creator of Ava, contended as the world’s first true AI, claims ’I’m not a man; I’m a god.’ Williams charts the history leading to AI, with philosophical thoughts from Plato onwards. Turing attracts the most references (eight) in Williams’ survey but he neglects to cover the breakthrough of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), which Turing himself acknowledged. Consideration could have been given concerning the training of neural networks. This would challenge us to reckon more upon the bias that AI systems may have due to limited inputs from restricted information sets, as well as steering from underpinning applied criteria. Wyatt’s early contribution, concerning human uniqueness, is a thought-provoking one, challenging us to be aware of the dangers of ‘deconstructing and denaturing’ key human embodiments such as empathy and moral responsibility. He returns to such in his later chapter on healthcare and AI.
William’s early focus is about personal relationship to God, as he seeks to define what it means to be human. The huge issues that transhumanism poses are seemingly ignored. Song and Herzfeld consider AI, both calling upon the book of Genesis and the Imago Dei. Herzfeld notes Hefner’s concept of ‘created co-creators’. Her expression that we are ‘God’s deputies on Earth’ is particularly appealing. The exercise of this calling is fraught with danger though. Like Nathan in Ex-Machina we are capable of over-extending ourselves. Herzfeld quotes Niebuhr, seeing our new-found involvements in AI development as ‘both the source of creativity and the temptation to sin’. Man’s capacity to exalt himself seemingly knows no bounds.
The last part of the book, on ethical and social issues, is the most engaging and dynamic. Andrew Graystone’s ‘Sextech’ chapter is challenging. It rather assumes that our sex drives necessitate sexual expression, embracing paraphernalia (literally!) to achieve that. Instant gratification is enabled via the impossibility of pregnancy or STDs, with 24/7 availability! Graystone acknowledges the uniqueness of embodied physical contact, seeing mediated sex acts as less than the real thing, essentially masturbatory! However there is no mention of the possibility of celibacy as an alternative, yet alone any calls for purity and how the sanctity of marriage may be upheld. In the channel 4 series ‘Humans’ Joe, the husband, does at least show guilt and remorse having had sex of a one-sided kind with Anita, the family robot. Graystone seems to ignore morality issues. Kate Ott in her book Sex, Tech, and Faith has more time to explore this subject. She includes ethical considerations, for instance over the use of pornography. Her consistent message is that calls for purity and abstinence reflect outdated practices, reflecting new morality, which some equate with the old immorality.
Two key chapters are the ones about the future of work, and the impacts of AI on health and social care. Nigel Cameron quotes Vint Cerf ‘Historically technology has created more jobs than it has destroyed. . no reason to think otherwise.’ Arguments are given to counter this, including quoting Charles Murray, ‘this time is different’. We have seen the consequences of the industrial revolution upon global climate change, with its dire consequences for mankind. There could be equally profound consequences with AI, underlining ‘this time is different’. If mankind is seen as having no special place in the order of things, why shouldn’t we be jettisoned, as superhumans, in the guise of advanced AI, take over?
We don’t have enough carers in the UK’s health service or social care systems. Many of us have seen the struggles that ensue firsthand. Wyatt’s contribution is particularly weighty here. AI’s ability and capacity to carry out diagnostic image assessments is very impressive, going significantly beyond what individuals can achieve in diagnosis. However AI’s involvement could sweep away wanted individualised face-to-face encounters between physician and patient. Social care robots already work in care homes in Japan. However many relatives of folk with dementia may baulk at this, questioning whether this is appropriate for their loved ones. Woebots and smartphone-based AI chatbots may come to the aid of the depressed. This could have significant benefit for hard-pressed health and social care systems, with their severe lacks in staffing. We have responsibilities though, having been put in families and communities to care for one another (1 Tim 5:8). Wyatt acknowledges that solving all these problems, including relieving pain, may not always provide needed solutions. The processes of suffering, including going through pain, may provide some positive-end therapeutic benefit.
Debates about Artificial Intelligence have recently been prominent in news agendas. This is a timely and helpful book, deserving of a wide readership. It has substance, going beyond the typical politicians’ banal sterile going-nowhere contentions that A.I. could be great for mankind, but might be extremely bad for us. The book is not without deficiencies, with key factors sometimes appearing to be missing. The middle section of the book, on ‘theological frameworks and responses’, is lightweight on theological analysis. The last section, on ethical and social issues, is where the book is most engaging and contributes most in the way of challenge to the way we look at AI. The book deserves to be read by everyone concerned about future tech and its impact on our lives.
The editing authors are notable contributors in contemporary debates about bio-medical ethics, and this compilation includes those, but has more wide-ranging content ranging from science fiction and cinema through theological frameworks to ‘Sextech’ and socio-economics.
A cultural and historical analysis has contributions from science fiction and cinema. Lake and Downing engage us with a post-modernist idea that without God there is nothing special about human existence. Downing points to a usurping of God, seen in such films as Ex-Machina, where Nathan, the creator of Ava, contended as the world’s first true AI, claims ’I’m not a man; I’m a god.’ Williams charts the history leading to AI, with philosophical thoughts from Plato onwards. Turing attracts the most references (eight) in Williams’ survey but he neglects to cover the breakthrough of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), which Turing himself acknowledged. Consideration could have been given concerning the training of neural networks. This would challenge us to reckon more upon the bias that AI systems may have due to limited inputs from restricted information sets, as well as steering from underpinning applied criteria. Wyatt’s early contribution, concerning human uniqueness, is a thought-provoking one, challenging us to be aware of the dangers of ‘deconstructing and denaturing’ key human embodiments such as empathy and moral responsibility. He returns to such in his later chapter on healthcare and AI.
William’s early focus is about personal relationship to God, as he seeks to define what it means to be human. The huge issues that transhumanism poses are seemingly ignored. Song and Herzfeld consider AI, both calling upon the book of Genesis and the Imago Dei. Herzfeld notes Hefner’s concept of ‘created co-creators’. Her expression that we are ‘God’s deputies on Earth’ is particularly appealing. The exercise of this calling is fraught with danger though. Like Nathan in Ex-Machina we are capable of over-extending ourselves. Herzfeld quotes Niebuhr, seeing our new-found involvements in AI development as ‘both the source of creativity and the temptation to sin’. Man’s capacity to exalt himself seemingly knows no bounds.
The last part of the book, on ethical and social issues, is the most engaging and dynamic. Andrew Graystone’s ‘Sextech’ chapter is challenging. It rather assumes that our sex drives necessitate sexual expression, embracing paraphernalia (literally!) to achieve that. Instant gratification is enabled via the impossibility of pregnancy or STDs, with 24/7 availability! Graystone acknowledges the uniqueness of embodied physical contact, seeing mediated sex acts as less than the real thing, essentially masturbatory! However there is no mention of the possibility of celibacy as an alternative, yet alone any calls for purity and how the sanctity of marriage may be upheld. In the channel 4 series ‘Humans’ Joe, the husband, does at least show guilt and remorse having had sex of a one-sided kind with Anita, the family robot. Graystone seems to ignore morality issues. Kate Ott in her book Sex, Tech, and Faith has more time to explore this subject. She includes ethical considerations, for instance over the use of pornography. Her consistent message is that calls for purity and abstinence reflect outdated practices, reflecting new morality, which some equate with the old immorality.
Two key chapters are the ones about the future of work, and the impacts of AI on health and social care. Nigel Cameron quotes Vint Cerf ‘Historically technology has created more jobs than it has destroyed. . no reason to think otherwise.’ Arguments are given to counter this, including quoting Charles Murray, ‘this time is different’. We have seen the consequences of the industrial revolution upon global climate change, with its dire consequences for mankind. There could be equally profound consequences with AI, underlining ‘this time is different’. If mankind is seen as having no special place in the order of things, why shouldn’t we be jettisoned, as superhumans, in the guise of advanced AI, take over?
We don’t have enough carers in the UK’s health service or social care systems. Many of us have seen the struggles that ensue firsthand. Wyatt’s contribution is particularly weighty here. AI’s ability and capacity to carry out diagnostic image assessments is very impressive, going significantly beyond what individuals can achieve in diagnosis. However AI’s involvement could sweep away wanted individualised face-to-face encounters between physician and patient. Social care robots already work in care homes in Japan. However many relatives of folk with dementia may baulk at this, questioning whether this is appropriate for their loved ones. Woebots and smartphone-based AI chatbots may come to the aid of the depressed. This could have significant benefit for hard-pressed health and social care systems, with their severe lacks in staffing. We have responsibilities though, having been put in families and communities to care for one another (1 Tim 5:8). Wyatt acknowledges that solving all these problems, including relieving pain, may not always provide needed solutions. The processes of suffering, including going through pain, may provide some positive-end therapeutic benefit.
Debates about Artificial Intelligence have recently been prominent in news agendas. This is a timely and helpful book, deserving of a wide readership. It has substance, going beyond the typical politicians’ banal sterile going-nowhere contentions that A.I. could be great for mankind, but might be extremely bad for us. The book is not without deficiencies, with key factors sometimes appearing to be missing. The middle section of the book, on ‘theological frameworks and responses’, is lightweight on theological analysis. The last section, on ethical and social issues, is where the book is most engaging and contributes most in the way of challenge to the way we look at AI. The book deserves to be read by everyone concerned about future tech and its impact on our lives.
May 17, 2025
"The Robot Will See You Now: Artificial Intelligence and the Christian Faith", curato da John Wyatt e Stephen N. Williams e pubblicato nel 2021 da SPCK Publishing, è una raccolta di saggi che affronta con profondità e rigore l'intersezione tra i rapidi progressi dell'intelligenza artificiale (IA) e la fede cristiana. Il libro si rivolge a un pubblico ampio, dai lettori curiosi di tecnologia a coloro che desiderano esplorare le implicazioni etiche e teologiche dell’IA, indipendentemente dal loro livello di conoscenza tecnica.
Il volume è strutturato in due parti principali. La prima introduce il campo dell’IA, esplorando il suo impatto in settori come la medicina, il lavoro, la sicurezza e le relazioni umane. Gli autori, tra cui esperti internazionali come i curatori Wyatt e Williams, analizzano sia la percezione dell’IA sia il suo effettivo impatto sulla società, evidenziando i benefici – come il ruolo dell’IA nello sviluppo rapido dei vaccini per il COVID-19 – e le sfide, come la possibile erosione degli incontri umani faccia a faccia. La seconda parte sviluppa una risposta teologica, esaminando come l’IA possa essere considerata alla luce della dottrina cristiana, con particolare attenzione a temi come la natura umana, l’immagine di Dio e la relazione tra uomo e macchina.
Ogni capitolo, scritto da un diverso autore, affronta una prospettiva specifica, spaziando dalla fantascienza (con riferimenti a opere che esplorano il potenziale dell’IA) alle applicazioni pratiche, come i robot per l’assistenza sociale in Giappone o i chatbot per la salute mentale. Il libro non si limita a celebrare i progressi tecnologici, ma solleva domande critiche: l’IA minaccia l’unicità umana? Può un robot raggiungere uno stato di “illuminazione” o sostituire autentiche relazioni umane? Queste riflessioni sono radicate in una prospettiva cristiana ortodossa, ma risultano accessibili anche a chi si avvicina al tema senza un background religioso.
Uno dei maggiori pregi del libro è la sua capacità di bilanciare approfondimento accademico e accessibilità. Gli autori non si schierano né a favore né contro l’IA, ma adottano un approccio riflessivo, incoraggiando i lettori a porsi domande significative. La varietà di prospettive – dalla scienza all’antropologia, dall’arte alla teologia – rende il testo ricco e stimolante. Ad esempio, il capitolo di John Wyatt sull’IA in ambito sanitario esplora il potenziale dei robot assistivi, ma mette in guardia contro la perdita di compassione umana, citando passi biblici come 1 Timoteo 5:8 per sottolineare il dovere di prendersi cura gli uni degli altri.
Il libro è inoltre lodato per la sua chiarezza nel trattare temi complessi. Come notato in una recensione su Amazon.co.uk, “è leggermente più accademico di quanto il titolo suggerisca, ma questo non è un punto debole”. La prosa è ben scritta e coinvolgente, con un equilibrio tra analisi tecnica, riferimenti culturali (come la fantascienza) e riflessioni spirituali. La prefazione dell’Arcivescovo di Canterbury, Justin Welby, sottolinea come il libro “sfugga alle risposte facili” e sfidi i lettori a confrontarsi con le implicazioni dell’IA.
Alcune recensioni, come quella su Free Online Library, suggeriscono che il libro potrebbe essere più inclusivo verso i professionisti del settore tecnologico, come ingegneri o sviluppatori, che potrebbero desiderare un maggiore riconoscimento del loro lavoro creativo dietro l’IA. Inoltre, il focus specifico sulla fede cristiana potrebbe limitare l’interesse di lettori non cristiani, sebbene il testo si sforzi di essere universale nel trattare le questioni etiche. Infine, alcuni temi, come il potenziale dell’IA generale (macchine coscienti), sono trattati più speculativamente, il che potrebbe lasciare i lettori in cerca di risposte concrete leggermente insoddisfatti.
"The Robot Will See You Now" è una lettura preziosa per chiunque voglia comprendere come l’IA stia rimodellando la società e come la fede possa offrire una guida in questo panorama in evoluzione. È particolarmente indicato per cristiani interessati a riflettere sul significato dell’essere umano in un’era di tecnologia avanzata, ma anche per accademici, studenti e professionisti che desiderano un’analisi etica dell’IA. La recensione di Premier Christianity lo descrive come “un trattato conciso e ben scritto che lotta con se stesso”, offrendo spunti sia culturali che teologici.
Il volume è strutturato in due parti principali. La prima introduce il campo dell’IA, esplorando il suo impatto in settori come la medicina, il lavoro, la sicurezza e le relazioni umane. Gli autori, tra cui esperti internazionali come i curatori Wyatt e Williams, analizzano sia la percezione dell’IA sia il suo effettivo impatto sulla società, evidenziando i benefici – come il ruolo dell’IA nello sviluppo rapido dei vaccini per il COVID-19 – e le sfide, come la possibile erosione degli incontri umani faccia a faccia. La seconda parte sviluppa una risposta teologica, esaminando come l’IA possa essere considerata alla luce della dottrina cristiana, con particolare attenzione a temi come la natura umana, l’immagine di Dio e la relazione tra uomo e macchina.
Ogni capitolo, scritto da un diverso autore, affronta una prospettiva specifica, spaziando dalla fantascienza (con riferimenti a opere che esplorano il potenziale dell’IA) alle applicazioni pratiche, come i robot per l’assistenza sociale in Giappone o i chatbot per la salute mentale. Il libro non si limita a celebrare i progressi tecnologici, ma solleva domande critiche: l’IA minaccia l’unicità umana? Può un robot raggiungere uno stato di “illuminazione” o sostituire autentiche relazioni umane? Queste riflessioni sono radicate in una prospettiva cristiana ortodossa, ma risultano accessibili anche a chi si avvicina al tema senza un background religioso.
Uno dei maggiori pregi del libro è la sua capacità di bilanciare approfondimento accademico e accessibilità. Gli autori non si schierano né a favore né contro l’IA, ma adottano un approccio riflessivo, incoraggiando i lettori a porsi domande significative. La varietà di prospettive – dalla scienza all’antropologia, dall’arte alla teologia – rende il testo ricco e stimolante. Ad esempio, il capitolo di John Wyatt sull’IA in ambito sanitario esplora il potenziale dei robot assistivi, ma mette in guardia contro la perdita di compassione umana, citando passi biblici come 1 Timoteo 5:8 per sottolineare il dovere di prendersi cura gli uni degli altri.
Il libro è inoltre lodato per la sua chiarezza nel trattare temi complessi. Come notato in una recensione su Amazon.co.uk, “è leggermente più accademico di quanto il titolo suggerisca, ma questo non è un punto debole”. La prosa è ben scritta e coinvolgente, con un equilibrio tra analisi tecnica, riferimenti culturali (come la fantascienza) e riflessioni spirituali. La prefazione dell’Arcivescovo di Canterbury, Justin Welby, sottolinea come il libro “sfugga alle risposte facili” e sfidi i lettori a confrontarsi con le implicazioni dell’IA.
Alcune recensioni, come quella su Free Online Library, suggeriscono che il libro potrebbe essere più inclusivo verso i professionisti del settore tecnologico, come ingegneri o sviluppatori, che potrebbero desiderare un maggiore riconoscimento del loro lavoro creativo dietro l’IA. Inoltre, il focus specifico sulla fede cristiana potrebbe limitare l’interesse di lettori non cristiani, sebbene il testo si sforzi di essere universale nel trattare le questioni etiche. Infine, alcuni temi, come il potenziale dell’IA generale (macchine coscienti), sono trattati più speculativamente, il che potrebbe lasciare i lettori in cerca di risposte concrete leggermente insoddisfatti.
"The Robot Will See You Now" è una lettura preziosa per chiunque voglia comprendere come l’IA stia rimodellando la società e come la fede possa offrire una guida in questo panorama in evoluzione. È particolarmente indicato per cristiani interessati a riflettere sul significato dell’essere umano in un’era di tecnologia avanzata, ma anche per accademici, studenti e professionisti che desiderano un’analisi etica dell’IA. La recensione di Premier Christianity lo descrive come “un trattato conciso e ben scritto che lotta con se stesso”, offrendo spunti sia culturali che teologici.
February 1, 2025
Slightly more academic than you might get from the title, but that is not a weakness. This is a collection of essays by various thinkers and academics, neither pro- nor anti-AI but all taking a step back and looking at the various implications through the lens of Christian faith. Hence there are discussions on our understanding of what it means to be human, the blurring between human and machine intelligence (and indeed identity), precisely what "the image of God" might mean, and the social implications. Even if you take away the theology, there is enough here for anyone to develop a rounded view of what this new technology means for us.
July 13, 2025
It was good, but it promised a bold collision between AI and Christian theology and underdelivered. Instead, it was a AI primer with a light dusting of faith. Informative? Sure. Theologically rich? Eh, not really.
It talks about Christianity more than it talks from it. If you are hoping for deep engagement with Scripture, doctrine, or the Church’s voice in the age of algorithms, this one doesn’t quite boot up. It is worth it if you’re a novice on AI.
It talks about Christianity more than it talks from it. If you are hoping for deep engagement with Scripture, doctrine, or the Church’s voice in the age of algorithms, this one doesn’t quite boot up. It is worth it if you’re a novice on AI.
Read
August 2, 2023A good collection of essays. Like all such collections, some entries are better than others. I got the most out of the sections on theological and social reflection. The most challenging essay was Robert Song's on AI and human uniqueness.
August 17, 2023
A collection of essays, giving food for thought on a subject that is developing right now in a mind-blowing pace. Was written before chatGPT, but it raises good questions about general AI
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews