Computer Science
in Cosmic Perspective
Professor Jim Huggins
Kettering University
CRU
9 September 2015
A blast from the past …
James K. Huggins, The Assumptions of Computing, in Ethics
in the Computer Age, ACM Conference Proceedings,
Gatlinburg, TN, 11-13 November 1994, 46—50.
(the “secular” version)
We Are All Technologists
We (Monsma) can define technology as:
• a distinct human cultural activity …
• in which human beings exercise freedom and
responsibility in response to God …
• by forming and transforming the natural
creation …
• with the aid of tools and procedures …
• for practical ends or purposes.
A Christian Response to
Technology
Strawman #1: Total Rejection
The Cultural Mandate
God blessed [humanity] and said to them, “Be
fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth
and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and
the birds in the sky and over every living
creature that moves on the ground.”
(Gen 1:28)
Strawman #2: Total Acceptance
Technology Is Not Neutral
1. Technology is a human activity, not an
artifact; it is subject to judgment
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks to God the Father through him.
(Col 3:17)
Technology is Not Neutral
2. Technology has unforeseen effects on the
cultures where it is introduced
– (Plato) Does writing help or hurt our memory?
– (Postman) Matches, fires, and adultery …
– (Weizenbaum) The cotton gin and civil rights …
Most of this comes from embedded assumptions
The Assumptions of Computing
(and the questions they raise)
Assumption 1: Power is Valuable
Controlling the uncontrollable is good, but …
1. Power is intoxicating …
“Within a generation, the problem of creating ‘artificial
intelligence’ will be solved.” (M. Minsky, 1967)
… and often misapplied
e.g. “communication” vs. “information exchange”
What is a problem? What is a solution?
Assumption 1: Power is Valuable
2. Power corrupts
– The temptation to control data, falsify data
3. Power is addictive
– The creation of worlds of our own making,
instead of the world God made
What is a solution? What is real?
Assumption 2: Speed is Valuable
A faster computer is always better, right?
1. The tyranny of the urgent:
because I can act fast, I must act fast
2. And what do we do with this time we save?
Why are we valuable? What is worth doing?
Assumption 3: Data is Valuable
The truth shall make you free. (John 8:32)
1. Too much of a good thing
– which inherently leads to bureacracy
2. Substance: GIGO
– urban legend memes …
3. Data becomes disconnected from reality
– “It is well that war is so terrible -- lest we should
grow too fond of it.” –Robert E. Lee
What is worth doing? What is true? What is real?
Assumption 4: Logic is Valuable
AI: the essence of intelligence is rationality
But then what about …
• Intuition? (What if playing a hunch works?)
– “It is through science that we prove, but through
intuition that we discover.” ---Poincaré
• Emotion?
Why are we valuable? Only as rational agents?
The Questions of Computing
•
•
•
•
•
•
What is a problem?
What is a solution?
What is worth doing?
What is real?
Why are we valuable?
What is truth?
Some sample answers
• What is worth doing?
– And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do
it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks
to God the Father through him.
(Col 3:17)
• Why are we valuable?
– You have made [people] a little lower than the
angels and crowned them with glory and honor.
(Ps 8:5)
Homework
• What are the assumptions of your
(sub-)discipline?
• What questions do those assumptions
generate?
• What does Christianity have to say about
those questions?