Staying Human: A Jewish Theology A Jewish Theology for the Age of Artificial Intelligence

by Harris Bor

Futurists speculate that we are heading towards a 'singularity,' where AI will outsmart human beings, and humanity will coalesce into a single, ever-expanding mind for which data is everything. The idea mirrors conceptions of God as everything, singular, and all-knowing. But is this idea of the singularity, or God, good for humanity? Oneness has its attractions. But what space does it leave for individuality and difference? In this book, British-Jewish theologian, Harris Bor, explores these questions by applying approaches to oneness and difference found in the thought of philosophers, Benedict Spinoza (1632-1677) and Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), to the challenges of religious belief and practice in the era of AI. What emerges is a dynamic religion of the everyday capable of balancing all aspects of being, while holding tight to a God who is both singular and wholly other, and which urges us, above all, to stay human.

266 pages, Paperback

Published November 17, 2021

Reviews

[Marsha Altman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good philosophy book. It's well-written and comprehensible. My issue is that the marketing and summary makes it seems like it's going to talk about AI, which it only does in passing. The author spends most of the time summarizing Spinoza and Heiddeger before discussing non-dualism and how this is a way of viewing Jewish traditions. Interesting if you're a religious Jew, not relevant to me at this time.