Artificial intelligence and religion
The question of artificial intelligence and its ethical issues and challenges is one of the major issues of our time, that of the digital revolution.
Although debates on the subject are more advanced in the most digitized countries, it is important to note that they are occupying more and more space on the institutional and scientific agenda of African countries.
For example, on May 2, 2023 in Dakar, UNESCO organized a meeting of researchers and decision-makers to support legislation on artificial intelligence. These initiatives provide an opportunity to read up on issues that have already been identified, in order to implement best practices and anticipate possible transpositions according to the diverse realities of Africa. This is the background to the Artificial Intelligence for African Development (AI4D) program run by the African Observatory on Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AORAI).
LASPAD, chosen as the French-speaking West African laboratory, carried out the study among 296 religious authorities in 4 towns in Senegal.
The main points of this study concern the applications, legislation and ethical responsibility of AI.
- What are the main ethical issues identified?
- How, based on the perceptions of religious actors, can we get leads on AI regulation?
- What role could religious authorities play in this regulatory project?
This work is part of a study whose aim is to ” map the knowledge and perceptions of these players and assess the level of ethical responsibility on AI”.
This is the result of a survey of some 300 religious authorities in Senegal. They include imams, ustaz (religious teachers) and preachers.
We questioned them on 4 aspects: their online religious activity, their level of knowledge of personal data, their level of knowledge of the ethical challenges of AI and their ethical responsibility regarding the various applications of AI.
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