It has been learnt that one of the many faces of truth, in its constant interpretive metamorphosis, can lead to intolerance if it is unwilling to be challenged. The pursuit of knowledge requires an openness to different perspectives and a willingness to question established beliefs. However, even faith, which is fundamentally based on concepts of unconfirmed supposed truth, can itself be intolerant if its adherents refuse to engage in dialogue or consider alternative interpretations.
When the possibility of opening a dialogue is eliminated, the premises for understanding any issue are also eliminated. Dialogue is an important tool for exchanging ideas, sharing different points of view, and seeking a deeper understanding of complex issues. Through dialogue, beliefs can be challenged and there can be a collective search for truth. By embracing dialogue, an environment is created where knowledge can thrive and evolve, different interpretations can be explored, and the boundaries of truth can be pushed further.
In the complex interplay between truth, knowledge, belief, interpretation and dialogue, it is acknowledged that truth is not fixed but is influenced by our perspectives and understanding. Ongoing dialogue and the exchange of ideas are necessary to refine knowledge, challenge beliefs and uncover new dimensions of truth. A respectful and open dialogue fosters an environment that promotes intellectual growth and exploration of diverse interpretations. The text will discuss concepts such as truth, faith, interpretation and dialogue for the reader to recognise.
Artificial Intelligence has the capacity to expand human capabilities, improve human-machine collaboration, reshape personalised education and learning, improve the quality of life in general, and solve various complex and global problems of our time (Pungitore, 2023). There is a risk of not understanding, or understanding less and less, how AI formulates its own ‘thinking’. Given human nature’s propensity for complacency, there is a risk of destroying the ability to think critically and accepting the result presented in a matter of seconds as dogma. The meaning of dogma will be explored in the next few lines, where a closer look will be taken at how blindly accepting AI can alter perception of reality, truth and life in general. To explore this issue further, an analogy can be ventured, here addressing the ‘deism – theism’ tension field on the philosophical-theological track.
In the historical context, the time-frame is feudalism and early modern Europe, which was the social, political, and economic order of Europe between the 10th and 18th centuries. This period was strongly characterised by the complementarity of spiritual and secular power and rule (Kümin, 2022).
During this period, Catholic priests and Lutheran pastors were known for espousing absurd ideas, as they forbade free thinking. They renounced reason and demanded that their followers do the same, displaying theological impudence. This behaviour is reminiscent of a woman who, when caught in bed with a priest by her husband, claimed that it was a devil’s trick to outrage a man of God and hoped her husband would believe her over his own eyes. “The opponents of free thought are constantly working to restrict man in the use of his faculties (Antiseri & Reale, 2014).
During this period, “knowledge” or the administration of “knowledge” was for a long time a central component of spiritual power: the monopoly of knowledge of the Catholic Church. It is therefore clear to all of us that there is a connection between the theme of “free thinking”.
This monopoly of knowledge by the Catholic Church began to crack in the wake of Gutenberg’s invention, where theoretical knowledge suddenly opened up to a wider audience, initiating a profound change in the management and understanding of knowledge. The Catholic Church tried to suppress this revolution, as did several layers of highly organised society who saw their authority threatened by this invention. Gutenberg’s invention can be viewed as a tool of mass communication.
The meaning of the ban on free thought and the role of AI is being discussed. Moving from a different time period to the present, we encounter what could be considered the Gutenberg of the 21st century, namely artificial intelligence. AI is seen as a synonym for knowledge and helps us improve our abilities, similar to how the printed book did before.
Possible reasons why AI is difficult for humans to understand are its predictive power and speed of data processing. This may lead humans to accept its decisions as dogma without questioning whether they make sense or not. Although AI offers benefits, it cannot explain its decisions and actions to human users (DARPA, 2022). It is predicted that humans will increasingly rely on the tacit advice of machines. However, the dogma is in the nature of stressful AI, where there is a real risk of blindly following the machine’s outcome by default.
It is therefore clear that, alongside agility and the ability to generate ideas, critical thinking, which need not be free thinking, is a necessary skill to cope with technological developments. However, there is nothing revolutionary or new about this, as the ability (competence) to think critically (also in a differentiated way) was already promoted during the Renaissance (15th/16th centuries) and the Enlightenment (18th century).
Now, however, the ability to understand how the machine makes its decisions is a knot to be untied. DARPA has therefore launched a programme called Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI), which aims to make decision-making and data processing more transparent (DARPA, 2022). Apart from the mentioned programme, it is urgently necessary to develop critical thinking skills in future generations to protect the freedom of thought. The goal is to promote the constructive and innovative development of critical thinking skills in the face of ongoing technological processes. This concludes the brief reflection.
Bibliography
Antiseri, D., & Reale, G. (2014). Storia Della Filosofia-Volume 6: Illuminismo E Kant (Vol. 6). Giunti.
DARPA. (2022). Developing Algorithms That Make Decisions Aligned with Human Experts. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2022-03-03
Kümin, B. (2022). The European World 1500–1800: An Introduction to Early Modern History. Taylor & Francis.
Pungitore, F. (2023). Metafisica Dell’intelligenza Artificiale (i. s. publishing, Ed.) [saggio]. ilmiolibro self publishing.