TITLE:
Enhancing Artificial Intelligence with Indigenous Wisdom
AUTHORS:
Deborah H. Williams, Gerhard P. Shipley
KEYWORDS:
Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Wisdom, Western Scientific Worldview, Indigenous Wisdom, Indigenous Worldview, Navajo Philosophy, Hozho
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Philosophy,
Vol.11 No.1,
February
1,
2021
ABSTRACT: The current “narrow” or “weak” form of artificial intelligence is, by
itself, fundamentally a data analysis tool that does nothing more or less than
its programming instructs it to do. It has no values or goals of its own, it
simply follows the values and pursues the goals provided to it by its
programmers. Artificial wisdom has the potential to make artificial
intelligence a better tool and eventually perhaps more than a tool, but at
least for now artificial wisdom must also
be programmed and therefore similarly reflects only the wisdom of its
programmers. Artificial intelligence, with its reductionistic ontology of data
and its contrived epistemology of algorithms, is the quintessential product of
the Western scientific worldview, and the development and application of
artificial intelligence and discussions of artificial wisdom still largely
reflect that one, narrow worldview. Artificial wisdom would greatly benefit
from incorporating elements of non-Western worldviews, particularly the
metaphysically inclusive Indigenous worldview. For example, the Navajo concept
of hozho involves the normative values and goals of harmony, balance, interrelatedness,
and connectedness. Hozho and other
Indigenous concepts are potentially paradigm-shifting additions to artificial
wisdom and could greatly enhance the usefulness of and overall benefit from
applications of artificial intelligence.