Human technologies of love and forgiveness in times of AI

Currently, many believe that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will replace human intelligence, which, however, exposes a materialistic view (Miguens, 2019), since it is supported by the idea of conscience as a consequence of “natural selection” and the growth of brain structures (Satinover, 2008).

Purely physical intelligence, however, does not resolve issues such as “consciousness, emotion and will”, because, as Miguens (2019) asks, how could it be “possible that my thoughts and the neurons in my brain are part of the same world? Despite the difficulty of understanding abstract concepts in ancient times, such as the soul and life in other dimensions, Jesus already taught: “There are many rooms in my Father's house” (St. John 14:2).

Today virtual world there is nothing future or potential, because it expresses various real relationships (Lévy, 2015), which then refers to a more mental that physics. Ada Lovelace (1815-1842) made a decisive contribution to computer science and the philosophy of mind by combining her remarkable mathematical talent with a holistic and even metapsychic vision.^[1] of the world, which led her to conclude about the “unique nature of the mental act” (Neumann, 2023).

The metapsychic understanding of the mind was shared by other exponents of the Victorian era, such as Crookes, Lodge and Thomson, who openly participated in scientific research and spiritist séances, a vision facilitated by inventions such as Marconi's radio, which drew a new frontier between the “dimension of the real” and that of the “invisible to the eye” through the “voices and sounds of the void” (Gleiser, 2014, p. 261).

For Turing (1912-1954), intelligence does not require a “special matter” or “a soul”, since it is based on a process of “pure form (syntax), without [...] meaning” (Miguens, 2019, p. 109; 111), although together with Gödel he recognizes that “mathematics as a formal structure no is complete”, then “the mechanization of human thought based on a fixed sequence of logical rules is mere fantasy” (Gleiser, 2014, p. 302-303).

According to Gleiser (2014, p. 259-262), Quantum Physics takes up the debate “between the material and the spiritual”, hence the question “If our limited perception fails to capture so much of what exists, why not suppose the existence of much more? Why not suppose the existence of a soul that [...] survives the material disintegration of the body?” Gleiser (2020, p. 19-20) goes further when he argues that radical atheism clashes with “science”, because science “can only deny [...] the existence of something after [...] conclusive observations. And observations absolutely conclusive do not exist”. A perception that, incidentally, refers to the “alliance of science and religion” cited by Kardec (2021, chapter I, item 8).

Sofia Miguens (2019, p. 112) criticizes the “simplistic materialism” of functionalism, which equates “brain states” with “functional states”, based on the idea, a priori attractive, that “The mind is to the brain as software is to hardware”, which, however, would reduce the former to a shape “logical-linguistic” like any other cognitive system capable of managing itself, such as AI, for example machine learning.

Cognitivism, however, receives a strong counterpoint from the “Chinese room”, an experiment in which someone who does not speak Chinese, through instructions in their language, sends Chinese symbols (“answers”) outside a small window, while the other external participants ignore these facts and send “questions”, which goes beyond the Turing test, as it gives the “answers” an “attributed intentionality” that is different from the “intrinsic intentionality” (Miguens, 2019, p. 113-114). According to Sofia Miguens (2019, p. 113-114), this shows that “programs” are insufficiently “syntactic” (form) “for there to be a mind”, because “minds have semantics” (meaning), hence why Strong AI (deep learning) “is an unjustified claim”.

The “control of mind over brain” or the “domination of mind over matter” - as attested to by placebo and psi effects, as well as Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) - is a consequence of the “sense of purpose and meaning” which, combined with “will, conscience and [the] emotions”, “effect changes”, as evidenced by brain recordings that make clear the complexity of both “spiritual experiences” and “human relationships” (Beauregard; O'Leary, 2025, p. 15).

This subject, therefore, deserves greater attention, not only from the philosophy of mind, but also from neuroscience, as Marlene Nobre (2007, p. 52) points out when she advocates further development of the “neurophysiology of mediumship”, in order to verify how the exchange between the spiritual world and the brain and physical body takes place.Marlene Nobre (2007, p. 77) differentiates between mental “concentration” and mental “fixation”. The former characterizes a temporary will and even rational, while the second is “the adherence of thought to an object (being or thing), preventing its normal flow and crystallizing it in such a way that any modification is prevented: “hatred and revolt, perversity and delinquency, fanaticism and revenge, can generate stagnation in time, according to the degree of concentration of thought in these fields of disharmony (Nobre, 2007, p. 77).

Here, it is already possible to recognize that forgiveness and self-forgiveness have their own dynamic, which begins with the negative occurrence and ends after its total emotional re-signification, when the mental fixation on the subject is removed. Kardec (2021, chapter IX, items 8-10) stresses that forgiveness, although initiated by the “consent of reason”, in order to be effective, needs the “consent of the heart”, which is not satisfied with appearances or ulterior motives such as imposing “humiliating conditions on the other”. This is the only way to replace the “painful fluidic current” with “benevolent thought”, aware that anger does not come from the body, but from the mind (soul), and can cause physical illness.

According to Moreira (2023, p. 25-26; 156-167), forgiveness shows the “biopsychosocial” human being and their expressions of (in)happiness. It also shows the decision “not to suffer any more”, capable of removing mental fixation, followed by concrete attitudes and a process of acceptance or resignation - not necessarily forgetting, but the opposite of anger, which, when “Denied, gives rise to hurt; exacerbated, it becomes aggression. At the root of every hurt is anger, repressed or recognized.”.

Unlike choleric acts and thoughts, love and forgiveness bring about qualitative and holistic transformations in health, as in the re-signification sought in psychotherapy and in practices that cultivate “peace and serenity”

Various studies have shown benefits such as improving blood pressure, glycemic control, strengthening immunity, among others (Santos, 2021, p. 371-372).

Finally, the self-control of the mind (soul/Spirit) over matter - and as a guide to human relationships according to sublimated love - finds its maximum expression in Jesus and Gandhi. This is what enables the search for the meaning of life, the evolution of one's own consciousness and the overcoming of instinctive reactions and age-old errors. As this phrase, attributed to Chico Xavier, inspires us: “Although no one can go back and make a new beginning, anyone can start now and make a new end”.

May love and forgiveness, accepted by all peoples, be the motto and banner of our happier and more regenerated blue planet.

Hugo Barroso Uelze is a lawyer and volunteer at the Cairbar Schutel Spiritist Group in São Paulo.

References

BEAUREGARD, Mario; O'LEARY, Denyse. The spiritual brain: a neuroscientific explanation for the existence of the soul. Translated by Alda Porto. 5. ed. Rio de Janeiro: BestSeller, 2025.

GLEISER, Marcelo. The island of knowledge: the limits of science and the search for meaning. Rio de Janeiro: Record, 2014.

GLEISER, Marcelo. The blue cauldron: the Universe, man and his Spirit. 6. ed. Rio de Janeiro: Record, 2020.

KARDEC, Allan. The Gospel according to Spiritism. 366. ed. Araras, SP: IDE, 2021.

LÉVY, Pierre. What is virtual? 2. ed. São Paulo: Editora 34, 2015.

MIGUENS, Sofia. Alan Turing and the philosophy of mind. In: ESPÍRITO SANTO, José Carlos (ed.). Alan Turing: universal scientist. Braga, Portugal: UMinho, 2019. Available at: https://ebooks.uminho.pt/index.php/uminho/catalog/view/5/8/187. Accessed on: Dec. 21, 2025.

MOREIRA, Andrei. Healing and self-healing: a medical-spiritist vision. Catanduva, MG: AME-MG, 2023.

NEUMANN, Patricia. Machine thinking in Ada Lovelace. Symbiotics. Electronic Journal, v. 10, n. 1, p. 106-125, 2023. Doi: https://doi.org/10.47456/simbitica.v10i1.38046.

NOBRE, Marlene. The gift of mediumship. São Paulo: FE Editora, 2007.

SANTOS, José Ricardo In: AGUIAR, Paulo Rogério Dalla Colletta de; DURGANTE, Carlos Eduardo Accioly (org.). Enlightened psychiatry:the contributions of André Luiz through the psychography of Chico Xavier. São Paulo: AME-Brasil Editora, 2021.

SATINOVER, Jeffrey.The quantum brain: the new discoveries of neuroscience and the next generation of human beings. Translation by Willian Lagos. 2. ed. São Paulo: Aleph, 2008.

[1] In this sense, it seems useful to transcribe the following passage: “First of all: due to some peculiarities in my nervous system, I have perceptions of some things that other people don't have; or at least very few, if any. This faculty can be called in me a singular tact or one could call it a perceptive intuition of things that are hidden; that is, things hidden from the eyes, ears and ordinary senses. This quality alone would give me little advantage in the line of discovery, but there is a second: my intense rational faculties” (Apud Neumann, 2023, p. 111).