Modern Warfare, Spiritual Health, and the Role of Artificial Intelligence

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This paper is commendable and should be eventually published but it could be improved for originality by focusing on a specific argument. Thus we would avoid a multiplicity of disparate arguments that are not really new. I would recommend perhaps narrowing the angle, to avoid sounding like many other papers on the matter. Why not focus on the philosophical/spiritual health aspect?

Some recent developments are ignored, is this intentional? For example, no mention is made of the recent paradigm of "philosophical health", which is different from "spiritual health" as it does not always necessitate faith in divine order (and the God of philosophers is not the God of religious churches).

The conclusion shows clearly that the authors are skeptical of AI being used autonomously, which is fine, but such criticism is less apparent, therefore more ambiguous, in the internal paragraphs that concern the matter. Moreover, the recommendation to use AI to detect PTSD seems ironic given that the harm may have been caused by the use of AI-powered drones altogether. 

One simple question that could perhaps be addressed, since war is a disturbing activity altogether. Is there a philosophically healthy way of combatting in general? What does intellectual history say about it? What is the history of war-related mental issues?

Author Response

Thank you for reviewing my Religions article. I appreciate your time, effort, and valuable comments, many of which I have incorporated into the new revision.

Reviewer 2 Report

This paper deals with very important issues, thus needs to be revised.   Military veterans, PTSD and Spiritual health are well studied, and RPA and PTSD are well studies.  But this paper's originality should be laid upon relationship among AI weapon, RPA, PTSD and  Spiritual health which is not well focused.   Role of AI in this argument is not so clear.  Is there any new specific condition between AI weapon and PTSD?   What is their relationship to spiritual health?   Please make your statement clearly.  

Author Response

Thank you for reviewing my Religions article. I appreciate your time, effort, and valuable comments, many of which I have incorporated into the new revision.

Reviewer 3 Report

An excellent article.  Well researched and clearly written.  A good addition to the literature on AI and warfare.

My only substantive suggestion is that the author add a few sentences acknowledging that the Native American and other ceremonies for when the warrior goes/returns from war may need adaptation for drone operators who do not have a marked leave/return from and to their community.

edits:  line 203 remove "the", line 205 remove semicolon, line 215 close quote with no open quote

Author Response

Thank you for reviewing my Religions article. I appreciate your time, effort, and valuable comments, many of which I have incorporated into the new revision.

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

The revised manuscript is greatly improved and clearer.   The role of AI became more explicit, but AI's role in restoring spiritual health is still not clear.  Since the title has Spiritual Health, addressing the direct connection between AI and Spiritual Health is necessary.   So far, I have found possible valuable applications of AI in detecting traumatized minds of remote pilots.  How could AI be employed in restoring Spiritual Health?   Will AI be employed in conducting religious rituals for healing traumatized remote pilots?   I do not see any concrete argument in introducing AI in conducting religious rituals, which should be a core argument for this paper considering the title.   In this paper, religious service and ritual healings are done without any input from AI.   

The revised manuscript is greatly improved and clearer.   The role of AI became more explicit, but AI's role in restoring spiritual health is still not clear.  Since the title has Spiritual Health, addressing the direct connection between AI and Spiritual Health is necessary.   So far, I have found possible valuable applications of AI in detecting traumatized minds of remote pilots.  How could AI be employed in restoring Spiritual Health?   Will AI be employed in conducting religious rituals for healing traumatized remote pilots?   I do not see any concrete argument in introducing AI in conducting religious rituals, which should be a core argument for this paper considering the title.   In this paper, religious service and ritual healings are done without any input from AI.   

The revised manuscript is greatly improved and clearer.   The role of AI became more explicit, but AI's role in restoring spiritual health is still not clear.  Since the title has Spiritual Health, addressing the direct connection between AI and Spiritual Health is necessary.   So far, I have found possible valuable applications of AI in detecting traumatized minds of remote pilots.  How could AI be employed in restoring Spiritual Health?   Will AI be employed in conducting religious rituals for healing traumatized remote pilots?   I do not see any concrete argument in introducing AI in conducting religious rituals, which should be a core argument for this paper considering the title.   In this paper, religious service and ritual healings are done without any input from AI.   

Author Response

Thank you for your feedback and again for taking the time to review my manuscript. I added some AI-related information to section 6, including 6.2-3.