We all know that Jews aren’t permitted under Kashrut dietary law from enjoying a slice of bacon here and there. But what about AI? For those of us who strive to live an ethical life — Jew or Gentile — this should be a question most pressing. Traditionally we think of whether something is kosher or not based on dietary guidelines laid out in the book of Deuteronomy. But in practice, kosher observance has more to teach us than mere dietary habits.
In many Jewish circles today, whether or not something is kosher has increasingly become a question of moral or ethical concerns rather than one of mere food. Does the plant which produces my beef pay its employees a living wage or not? If not, some might say its kosher-credentials are in doubt.
Which brings us back to the topic of Artificial Intelligence. Is AI Kosher? Let’s explore some of the queries we might ask ourselves as we ponder that question. If using AI makes my impoverished neighbor’s utility price go up, even though they don’t use it, is it kosher? I would argue not. If using AI contributes to the ongoing climate crisis through the extreme wastefulness of data centers and their deleterious impact on the environment, is it kosher? I would argue not. If using AI makes me complicit in the largest theft of intellectual property in history, which enables the wealthy to access skills while preventing the skilled from accessing wealth, is it kosher? I would argue not.
These are the questions each of us must ask ourselves as we ponder AI. For whether or not something is kosher — or let us simply say morally acceptable — goes far beyond what might first meet the eye. In the case of AI, it is almost exclusively the injustices hidden in the background which ought to give us pause. For each time we utilize the tool we have, in effect, contributed to any number of problems accelerating in our world today.
We might also ponder the marketing surrounding AI as of late. President Trump recently has taken to insisting the new formal title for this technology is, “Super Intelligence” rather than Artificial Intelligence? Why? That answer is probably best summed up by Amazon Kingpin Jeff Bezos, who opined that, “because artificial is not a very flattering thing…artificial sort of means fake….”
If a product must be marketed through the twisting of language in order to hide what it most simply and objectively is – is it kosher? I would argue not.
