Philosopher and College Professor Dr. Jason Lee McKinney Unveils his New Book,
“What is a Person in the Age of AI”
College professor, philosopher, multi-award winning singer/songwriter/
“I wrote this book in response to the growing anthropomorphizing of artificial intelligence and the philosophical thinness of our current cultural definitions of personhood,” McKinney says. “Today, society often equates being a “person” with intellect alone. The danger is that any quantitative measure—like intelligence—can eventually be matched or exceeded by AI, leading to AI being regarded as equal or even superior to humans in personhood to humans. In this way the book is quite literally personal. I wanted to challenge this reduction of selfhood to measurable variables, because once personhood is defined purely in quantitative terms, both “self” and “person” lose their meaning. AI has forced into the foreground a loss of selfhood that has been quietly building in the background of our culture for a long time. Without a proper framework for understanding AI, we risk losing what makes humanity distinct.”
“In researching this book, I found that the most robust defense of human personhood requires us to look back before we look forward,” Dr. McKinney notes. “Ancient perspective on the self—rooted in the idea that personhood is qualitative and divinely granted—provides a more grounded and enduring foundation than purely modern, quantitative definitions. This foundation is far better equipped to withstand the challenges posed by AI.
From the Book
Historically, the terms human and person have been held as synonymous. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word human as a person. The contemporary scientific age has emphasized the biology of being human. Thus, a person is a biological human. But does that capture all the fundamental essence of what it means to be a person? Does biology give a whole explanation?
What are the necessary conditions that make a person a person? Is it consciousness? Is it intelligence? Is it free will? Is it sentience? Or is it something physical? Is it something metaphysical? Who am I? What does it mean to be me, a human, a self, a person? What are the conditions for reaching the state of being a distinct person? There is a question behind the question of “who am I?” The more foundational question is what it means to be an “I”? What does it mean to be a self?
Can AI possess the necessary conditions of selfhood? Can AI be a person?
“I want readers to think deeply about how they define the self and personhood—and to recognize that these are fundamentally qualitative realities,” McKinney says. “Our worth and uniqueness cannot be captured by metrics alone. If we fail to recognize and protect this, we will blur the line between human and machine in a way that erodes the dignity of being human.”
About the Author
Dr. Jason Lee McKinney is a professor, internationally touring singer, multiple award-winning songwriter and recording artist, and lay philosopher. Dr. McKinney holds a BA in Management, an MBA, an MA in Philosophy and Apologetics, and an Ed.D in Leadership and Professional Practice.
He resides in Nashville with his wife Summer (a therapist and author) and son Kai (a drum phenom). The McKinneys also have two grown sons—Zeke (a recording artist for Tooth & Nail records) and Zion (a worship leader at LifePoint church), one grown daughter, Zakyra (a music theater actress), and two grandchildren, Leeland and Lily.
Connect with Jason at https://www.jasonleemckinneyband.com/
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