Get this!…There’s a good reason why people call mathematics a “language” because it is a language – and computational mathematics is essentially a complex communicative tool made up of number series, strings of them to be exact, hence why this article is talking about the Vatican stressing the need for ethics surrounding how us humans program these linguistic mathematical models – codes, i.e. algorithms into the machines used for information processing and production. All information produced by these can be likened to the results of a gigantic calculator but these instruments, precisely because they are so large in scope, need to be ethically regulated.
Now, because language can be used in a good way or a bad way, any kind of language used, whether it is made up of letters or numbers needs an ethical or moral framework around which that language is used. Like, for instance, in the world of human speech, and in just about every human language, there are not only grammatical, lexical, and syntaxical rules to be observed, which btw, we observe as part of the natural methodological rhythm of sentence structure but there are also certain cultural mannerisms we observe with how we use words and impart the messages encoded in our language. The more ethical the person, the more complementary with these ethics or moral positioning will be their speech, the more their choice of words will reflect their moral consciousness. This ethical selectivity or observance comprises the cultural mannerism of language. And so, the same needs to go for the use of our mathematical languages, and in this instance we are looking at the language of computational mathematics, the algorithms.
The first time I encountered algorithms or logorithms (from the Greek logos – meaning “word”) was in a Year 10 maths text book, and believe me, I understood next to nothing about them – in fact, like algebra, calculus, logic, permutations & probability, such words were kind of foreboding, after all, unlike my dad, I was not at all mathematically inclined and besides, him and I were in a constant battle of wills over this area of my school curriculum as I would repeatedly fail the subject since I found it so indomitbly hard to grasp or understand, never mind the fact that my dad was good at it and therefore that should have been a blessing – rather it was to me more of a curse since he was unable to teach the subject empathetically or with much patience and heart-felt sympathy for my struggles in grasping the rudiments of this area. Later on though, years later to be precise, he was very good at helping me to understand and appreciate the world of mathematics, which btw, I encountered again upon studying applied sciences.
And so we need to come to collectively appreciate the multidimensional facets of this computational mathematical language and precisely how its use can impact the way our information is spread and used. Because mathematics is a language, its lexical codes have just as much impact as does the language of human speech. Hence the need for ethical frameworks to be established in order that the results of how algorithmic language is “spoken” be nothing other than positive and generative in such a way that its speech does not in any way cause more problems than what has already been caused by the speech of lettered words. Put more clearly, we need to avoid having situations where the mathematical language of computers follow the fallen ways of human speech. So the ideal is a restorative framework, one that emphasizes going in the redemptive direction and not the other way.
It’s a bit like teaching a parrot how to talk. If u teach the parrot how to swear, soon it will mimic your use of swear words and crude jokes and sure, at first, it might sound funny – after all, that “funniness” is, on the surface, the “why” of “why” we find these kinds of words or jokes humourous. But when it comes to the crunch, it’s not really all that funny. Like, I would honestly prefer not to swear or laugh at things that are crude or rude. But as it turns out, it is a part & parcel of the way I was brought up in that British sit-coms with bawdy humour were a routine thing in my formative years hence I had an adolescence which was inundated with that kind of humour. But the truth about life is, so I have discovered rather rudely I must admit, much more complex than what Benny Hill or Are You Being Served? can dish up. And sooner or later the parrot you ended up teaching “them swear words” to, will end up resenting you for it and essentially will endeavour to make your life hell in order to get you to see the error of your ways in teaching it how to speak rubbish instead of something positive and good-natured. Hence the figure of speech “parrot fashion”. I am using this here to illustrate our predicament with needing ethics for computational programming because computers “learn” the mathematical language we impart into their systems in “parrot fashion”. And what’s even more important to consider is that because computers are, unlike humans, animals, and even plants, “inorganic” and even soul-less, they only learn what we put in. So it is critical we put in stuff which will benefit us and the rest of creation in such a way that the results of what we put in will be positive and beneficial.
We are solely responsible here and so it is critical that we are hypervigilant about our ethic of responsibility. This is one area where I think God is wanting to teach us a lesson in personal responsibility because it seems, as a whole, humanity has all but forgotten that. We have forgotten that personal responsibility for the results of our actions is key in the process of our becoming “man restored unto Grace”. Why? Because of our part in the original fall from Grace, that is why. And so, all of this points rather significantly to our essential part in the co-responsibility we share with God and the rest of creation in helping to restore our rightful place in the created order of things.
Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence, Computational Mathematics, Algorithm, Cultural Mannerism, Ethics, Parrot Fashion, Personal Responsibility, Moral Consciousness
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