Academic Seminar – 20th Feb // Dr. Christine Boshuijzen-van Burken – ‘Christian Philosophy and the Case of Responsible Military AI’
Academic seminars focus on early-stage research on questions at the intersection of Christian faith and scholarly enquiry. They are intended to be exploratory, generative for both presenter and participants, and accessible across disciplines.
Seminars run from 2-3pm, On most Fridays during the weeks of the University of Oxford’s full term
You are warmly invited to join us beforehand for community worship at 12.30pm and lunch in the Manor house (1-2pm).
Abstract:
Those that greatly fear AI for military purposes describe their case in terms of ‘killer robots’ or drones that go around in an unstoppable killing spree targeting humans. Such scenarios seem unrealistic, however, AI does play a role in life and death decisions in today’s wars and conflicts. This is reason for concern, for Christians and non-Christians alike. I will show that military applications of AI are not categorically good or bad, but that they can be evaluated via a multi-aspectual prism, providing both nuance and sensitivity to the importance of worldview in use and development of AI. The philosophical basis for my analysis comes from Herman Dooyeweerd (1894-1977), a Dutch philosopher in the 1930’s.
About the speaker:
Christine Boshuijzen-van Burken works as a researcher in military ethics at the Netherlands Defence Academy and holds the chair for Christian Philosophy at Eindhoven University of Technology. Her Phd (2014) was on the role of technology in moral decision making in military operations.
Registration is not required to attend the seminar, but is needed if you want to book in for the free lunch.
Date
20th February 2026
Time
14:00 - 15:00
Price
Free (including lunch)
Speaker
Dr. Christine Boshuijzen-van Burken
