What does it mean for something or someone to be created in one’s own image? This dissertation examines this question from the viewpoint of the two fields of theology and artificial intelligence (AI). At the root of the fascination our current culture has with creating an image of ourselves, an imago hominis, in a intelligent computer, lies a continuing problematic of defining what it is we wish to image, in other words, what it means to be truly human. In the field of AI, the elusive concept of intelligence is used to describe what is essential in us rather than merely contingent, what distinguishes us from other animals and makes us the species we are. The same question, what it means to be truly human, has been approached in theology through the concept of the imago Dei, the image of God, in which, according to Genesis 1:26, humans were created. Interpretations of the imago Dei have varied; in the twentieth century we find that most interpretations fall into three categories: the substantive, which views this image as a property, most often identified with reason; the functional, which views the image of God as an action, specifically our exercise of dominion over the earth; and the relational, which sees God’s image within the relationships we establish. These three interpretations are exemplified, respectively, in the work of Reinhold Niebuhr, Gerhard von Rad, and Karl Barth. These same three categories can be used to describe approaches to AI. Symbolicists such as Newell and Simon view intelligence as a property, held by the individual, and expressible as a set of rules and programs. A second, functional approach, views AI as merely a collection of techniques used to allow the computer to execute tasks normally done by human beings. A third stream in AI sees intelligence as best acquired and demonstrated in relationship. In both theology and AI, the functional and relational approaches are currently in the ascendancy. A relational view of the human person is supported not only by trends in current AI research, but also by the popular culture’s depictions of AI in science fiction story and film, where intelligent computers are consistently portrayed in relational terms. The analogy between interpretations of the imago Dei and approaches to creating an imago hominis has significance for both fields. AI’s support of a relational anthropology suggests the need for a corrective to the highly individual and personalized trajectory that has characterized American spirituality since the nineteen-sixties. Conversely, a relational interpretation of the imago Dei provides us with a plausible answer to the question of why AI remains of such interest to our culture, despite a history of minimal success.
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