Greetings, SBT Readers!

My two undergrad courses in Professional Writing & Communication at SXU, Chicago, are now heading into their third week. Given that most of the students are still waiting for their textbooks to arrive, I designed a classroom activity to help reinforce the material we have been covering: in pairs, the students were tasked with designing a personal robot for a target audience of their choice; they then had to create an advertisement including product specifications geared towards their audience. The next step was to assess if ChatGPT could improve their written work or whether the original version was more effective. It was a fun activity that involved a blend of creativity, critical thinking, the use of AI, and the awareness of how rapidly the world is changing. Multiple personal robot ideas surfaced, including butler robots, maids, laundry folders, study bots, dog bots, dance partners, and nurse's aides.

I have to admit that I enjoyed the project as much as my students. It was only later, in a conversation with my grandson, that the dark side of personal robots surfaced.

"Wanting to own a personal robot stems from the same desire to control others as slave owners had," Vance observed. "Your robot may be a machine, but you get to dictate what it does, how it does it, and its shelf-life. It's the same old Master-slave dynamic-- and it brings out the worst in people."

"Hmm," I responded, not having thought about it that way.

"As for being companions," he continued, "Robots increase loneliness. When people turn to humanoids for love and affection, they turn away from other people. What they think is love is merely programmed response. And there's no mutuality -- it's all about self-gratification with no need to contribute anything to the relationship."

"Hmm," I responded again, my mind spinning. Classes meet again on Tuesday, and I already know what the next activity will be: "With your study partner, identify the potential dangers of owning a personal robot."

If curious, you can learn more about personal robots and ethical considerations here; the total viewing time should take no more than 2 minutes:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Z4PbTRf32Nw

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ICyKjBYtDNk



https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5HoiQXUld7Q

Many Blessings,

Elizabeth

www.elizabeth-annestewart.com

COMING SOON: Mini-workshops on Mondays!

1#. The Hero Journey 2#. Re-Writing Old Scripts and 3#. Balancing Archetypes

LINK TO SCRIPTURE READINGS

Brothers and sisters:

Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;

for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery;

you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet, "

and whatever other commandment there may be,

are summed up in this one commandment, namely,

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 

Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.

Rom 13:8-10

While this Sunday's First Reading and Gospel focus on ways of approaching those who have harmed us in any way, the Second Reading presents a key teaching from the Hebrew Scriptures (Lv 19:18) and the New Testament (Mk 12:9-31): "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Collectively, the three texts invite us to reach out to others with respect, transparency, and the call for conversion. As uncomfortable as this might be, love in action can involve holding others accountable for their attitudes and actions. But is this always necessary, and is this always wise? Also, is there a "right" way of doing this, and a way that causes more harm than good?

In an ideal world, people of integrity are grateful when someone close to them points out an error in judgment, a thoughtless remark, or a flagrant breach of conduct. Sadly, the all-too-human response is denial, resentment, and even cover-ups; sometimes, the "messenger" ends up the victim, especially when speaking Truth to Power. The reality is that our egos resist unpleasant truths, often leading us to demonize those who dared challenge us.

Before confronting another person, we need to ask the following questions:

• Is this confrontation necessary?
• What will be the likely outcome?
• Am I the right person to confront this group or individual?
• Am I willing to pay the price for going ahead with this confrontation?
• Given the situation and the person or people involved, what would be the best way of intervening?
• How can I move forward with love and forgiveness, rather than with anger, resentment, and disrespect?

The process of accountability that Jesus outlines in Matt 18:15-20 is what was so desperately needed when the first cases of clerical pedophilia in the Catholic Church became public in the mid 1980s. Instead, "troubled" priests and religious were sent to treatment centers and then reassigned, or were simply reassigned without treatment. Today, institutional policies and procedures are in place to protect the vulnerable; unfortunately, however, innocent clergy are sometimes removed from parishes for months, even years, while investigations drag on. The damage to clergy and their parishioners is incalculable, reflecting neither love of neighbor nor the pursuit of justice. While the rights of victims must be protected and while every accusation must be taken seriously, still, unless there is "proof," the accused should not be presumed guilty before trial. As Jesus points out, "every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses" (Dt 19:15).