Q. An elderly woman that lives alone and lonely, acquired a great AI program that constantly talks to her, follows her with security cameras placed in all rooms, since the above AI program takes care of all needs by calling different services and also contacts family and friends as needed, it is incredibly helpful for her well being . She wants to know since this set up is so essential for her health, if she can keep it on and working during Shabbath, if and when it was turned on before Shabbath began.
A. The very crucial and important issues involved in this most critical question, are still to be explored and resolved in the new reality of how AI works. Many argue that even if we consider it to be independent, self thinking and working by itself, it is still managed and limited by the program that created it, and is not totally independent, individually thinking and self deciding. Therefore, having the program do prohibited work on Shabbos, although intelligent as it may be, it may still be considered as working for and with you and being an extension of yourself.
Although telling or asking a Gentile to do work for you on Shabbos may not be considered in Halacha as a prohibition on the Biblical level, and would give space for lenience in a similar situation when needed. Our case could be different, as mentioned.
The Shailah still needs lots of required technical information, that is constantly changing and advancing.-
At this point, it would be more correct, unless it is a life saving AI program, to avoid using it on Shabbos.
Horav Shlomo Miller’s Shlit’a opinion is similar.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Yaakov Hirschman, Horav Dovid Pam, Horav Aharon Miller, Horav Chanoch Ehrentreu and Horav Kalman Ochs Shlit'a.
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