AI and Anthropology - A Path away from Disenchantment and towards Re-enchantment
This dissertation endeavours to dismantle the idea that Artificial Intelligence is a threat to our anthropology. Arguing, instead, that any such threat is a product of two main conceptual stances that we term 'Gnosticism' - a stance that entails a negative view of matter, and 'Pelagia...
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| Format: | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| Language: | English |
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2022
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/69175/ |
| _version_ | 1848800542212489216 |
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| author | Collins, Harry |
| author_facet | Collins, Harry |
| author_sort | Collins, Harry |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This dissertation endeavours to dismantle the idea that Artificial Intelligence is a threat to our anthropology. Arguing, instead, that any such threat is a product of two main conceptual stances that we term 'Gnosticism' - a stance that entails a negative view of matter, and 'Pelagianism', a metrics-based criterion of importance. Both are argued to be erroneous when understood through the idea of the Imago Dei as our proper anthropology. Negative inferences that are thought to follow from A.I, are exposed as lacking all analytical motivation, doing so because they are ungrounded, indeed fallacious. To the contrary, A.I can be interpreted positively in relation to human flourishing, properly construed, intimating possible modes of re-enchantment. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:53:13Z |
| format | Thesis (University of Nottingham only) |
| id | nottingham-69175 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T20:53:13Z |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-691752022-08-03T04:40:24Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/69175/ AI and Anthropology - A Path away from Disenchantment and towards Re-enchantment Collins, Harry This dissertation endeavours to dismantle the idea that Artificial Intelligence is a threat to our anthropology. Arguing, instead, that any such threat is a product of two main conceptual stances that we term 'Gnosticism' - a stance that entails a negative view of matter, and 'Pelagianism', a metrics-based criterion of importance. Both are argued to be erroneous when understood through the idea of the Imago Dei as our proper anthropology. Negative inferences that are thought to follow from A.I, are exposed as lacking all analytical motivation, doing so because they are ungrounded, indeed fallacious. To the contrary, A.I can be interpreted positively in relation to human flourishing, properly construed, intimating possible modes of re-enchantment. 2022-08-03 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/69175/1/%28Mres%29%20AI%20and%20Anthropology%20-%20A%20Path%20away%20from%20Disenchantment%20and%20towards%20Re-enchantment.pdf Collins, Harry (2022) AI and Anthropology - A Path away from Disenchantment and towards Re-enchantment. MRes thesis, University of Nottingham. Artificial Intelligence Gnosticism Pelagianism |
| spellingShingle | Artificial Intelligence Gnosticism Pelagianism Collins, Harry AI and Anthropology - A Path away from Disenchantment and towards Re-enchantment |
| title | AI and Anthropology - A Path away from Disenchantment and towards Re-enchantment |
| title_full | AI and Anthropology - A Path away from Disenchantment and towards Re-enchantment |
| title_fullStr | AI and Anthropology - A Path away from Disenchantment and towards Re-enchantment |
| title_full_unstemmed | AI and Anthropology - A Path away from Disenchantment and towards Re-enchantment |
| title_short | AI and Anthropology - A Path away from Disenchantment and towards Re-enchantment |
| title_sort | ai and anthropology - a path away from disenchantment and towards re-enchantment |
| topic | Artificial Intelligence Gnosticism Pelagianism |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/69175/ |