How does one spirit speak to another? Fundamental human values in the era of digitisation – a critical discussion

Abstract

Goethe’s Faust contemplates this question in a (still) optimistic and confident state – and eventually despairs with it: How does a spirit speak to another? (cf. Goethe 1924, 41) How do entities that are essentially beyond reach and yet have to share fundamental ideas, values, and a certain worldview with the one who seeks but may never find communicate with each other? A similar problem arises within the context of the digital: If autonomous, adaptive data processing systems significantly shape and control people’s everyday life, it is precisely for that reason that they should incorporate fundamental human values in their processes and thus also communicate these in an interconnected world (interconnectedness is a prerequisite for artificial intelligence to be useful and meaningful). However, such values are largely defined by elements that cannot be digitised.
The paper took a different turn during the writing process than initially anticipated. I set out to examine in detail technical protocols that facilitate data exchange between digital systems, the underlying issue of incommensurability between human and machine communication, as well as the cultural loss constituted by the disappearance of symbolic communication, which I view as the basis for human religious practices. However, present developments – in particular the so-called corona crisis – shifted my focus towards a different question: the renewed urgency to establish fundamental categories for the protection of human life with regard to and with the help of communication technology.