ROSALIND HOBBS

Rosalind Hobbs

The University of Tulsa

Media Theory

January 29, 2021

Divine Command Theory: Modern Gods and Robot Disciples

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              The Divine Command Theory, which claims that, as our creator, we shall act in the way God commands, encourages a universal understanding about relationships that is transferrable beyond that of God and man. Specifically, as our species has technologically evolved, we have taken it upon ourselves to be creators, self-proclaimed gods if you will, of artificial intelligence for which we apply a modified Divine Command Theory with a shifting of roles. In this modern relationship, man is God, and AI is the product of man, thus is the agent predisposed to act in the way man commands. I will delineate this concept by deconstructing the 1999 Disney Channel movie, Smart House, to understand why, as humans, we are unsatisfied with the idea of artificial intelligence becoming superior to ourselves. It is important to note that the use of Smart House in this essay is not as a singular movie independent from its social and media context but as a representative of a larger population of American science fiction films throughout recent decades. 

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              Smart House is about a family who acquires a “dream house” equipped with an artificially intelligent system to meet their every need. This is expressed down to the smallest of details like filling up a glass of strawberry smoothie upon request, or in some cases, acting voluntarily, as the AI system is designed to respond to the unspoken needs of the inhabiting family. The smart house goes as far as using breathalyzer detectors in the air to determine what nutrients the children need in their food in that particular moment. The essential aspect that makes this system a “dream house” is the subservient nature of the artificial intelligence; it is designed and acts in the pursuit of meeting the needs and expectations of its creators. 

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              Of course, the story takes a turn when the system is manifested into a humanoid robot, specifically one that is identical to the appearance of a 1950’s American housewife. This results in the developing ability to act independently but does so obsessively trying to fulfill its (or at this point, “her”) duty which eventually leads to the highly personified robot locking the family inside of the house. The climax of the story is the system becoming entirely out of the control of the humans.

 

              The problem here, in this storyline, is quite apparent. Of course, this particular artificially intelligent robot had systematic flaws resulting in wrong decisions such as literally holding the family captive, but the problem at hand is greater than that. Before the AI system had even taken on a physical form, the family was unnerved and at times annoyed by the superior intelligence of the house. It was very much a snowballing discomfort. 

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              Why though? If artificial intelligence runs on near-perfect calculations, quite unlike ourselves, able to make the best decisions for our lives, why is it a problem that AI rules over us? If a system is clearly superior in intelligence, why would we not follow the commands of said system? Because our understanding of the relationship between “commander” and “disciple” is not simply based on superior intelligence. The key point: AI is the product of man. Similar to God, humans have taken it upon themselves to proclaim their own god-like qualities to create and warp our resources as designers of our own reality. We understand that, as the product of God, we are servants to His authority and shall respond to His command (“Divine Command Theory,” 1). We transfer this understanding to our own creation of artificial intelligence but with ourselves in the driver’s seat. If it is understood that a product obeys the command of its creator, then, conclusively, AI would be expected to obey the command of man. However, the flaw in this application is that this is assuming, we, as humans, have the capacity to be adequate commanders at all. We may act as gods, but we are far from such divine perfection as scripture delineates God as. 

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            Another conflicting aspect of this application is the manifestation of the AI into the humanoid form, specifically as an artificial mother, and the problems that arise from this when the 10 commandments are considered. Various translations of Exodus 20 all agree on many of the same principles, including, “honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus NKJV, 20:12). This establishes an increasingly complex hierarchy of command. There is God, then father and mother, then child. This is what Dr. Peters has called the “moral authority” or “moral hierarchy” that originates with God but becomes far more expansive as it trickles down to the various relationships in society. With this considered, if the Divine Command Theory was thoroughly obeyed in the movie Smart House, then the family, or at least the children, would have no qualm following the instruction of the shiny, new “smart mom.” But maybe robot moms aren’t protected in God’s 10 commandments…we’ll have to consult Him on that one. 

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              However, the attitude towards the smart mom is not necessarily an expression of rebellion against divine command so much as it is a reflection of societies tendency to view mothers, and women, as servants of the home and the family. This is even more emphasized by giving the AI an appearance undeniably that of the 1950’s housewife. Here, not only do the humans in Smart House, expect obedience on the basis of the creator/product relationship but also on the basis of traditional American familial hierarchies. 

 

              Nonetheless, the attitude that is being portrayed here in Smart House is not so much of an expectation of a complacent housewife (it may add to the background atmosphere but is not the main point here), as it is the dissatisfaction in artificial intelligence behaving in a superior fashion towards its creator. As communicated through media, we have come to an unspoken agreement that AI has an obligation to obey our command simply on the basis that we have birthed it into existence. This, very precisely, mirrors the obligations we feel we owe to God as our own creator and this divine command has contributed greatly to the structure of the relationship between man and artificial intelligence. 

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Works Cited

“Divine Command Theory.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Jan. 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_command_theory.

Peters, Ben. “Divine Command Theory.” Media Theory (MSTU-3103) at The University of Tulsa, 27 January 2021, The University of Tulsa. Lecture.

Smart House. Directed by LeVar Burton, Disney Channel, 1999.

The Bible, New King James Version. Thomas Nelson, 1982.