Page - 110 - in Limina - Grazer theologische Perspektiven, Volume 3:2

110 | www.limina-graz.eu Christian Wessely | Wie spricht ein Geist zum anderen Geist? | BIOGRAPHY Christian Wessely studierte nach dem Abschluss einer Ausbildung zum Agrar ingenieur und Landwirtschaftsmeister Katholische Theologie in Graz (Mag. theol. 1991); Doktorat in Fundamentaltheologie mit einer Dissertation über Mythologische Strukturen in der Unterhaltungsindustrie (Frankfurt a. M.: Lang 1995). Seine venia docendi für das Fach Fundamentaltheologie gründet auf seiner Habilitation zur Ekklesiologie des Diakonates, Gekommen, um zu dienen (Regensburg: Pustet 2005). Von 2014 bis 2019 war er (stellvertre- tender) Leiter des Institutes für Fundamentaltheologie an der Universität Graz, das mit 1. 9. 2019 im Rahmen einer Umstrukturierung aufgelöst wur- de. Er ist spezialisiert auf den Bereich Theologie und Medien. E-Mail: christian.wessely@uni-graz.at | KEY WORDS AI; Barmherzigkeit; Digitalisierung; Digitalisierungskritik; KI; Künstliche Intelligenz 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 (inter- connectedness is a prerequisite for artificial intelligence to be useful and mean- ingful). However, such values are largely defined by elements that cannot be digitised. The paper took a different turn during the writing process than initially an- ticipated. 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 con- stituted by the disappearance of symbolic communication, which I view as the basis for human religious practices. However, present developments – in par- ticular the so-called corona crisis – shifted my focus towards a different ques- tion: the renewed urgency to establish fundamental categories for the protection of human life with regard to and with the help of communication technology.